INDIA
Al-Biruni
Edited by
Qeyamuddin Ahmad
India-the Land and the People«
oS
:o £
India—The Land and the People
i
NDIA
Al-Biruni
Abridged Edition of
Dr. Edward C. Sachau s
English Translation
Edited
With Introduction and Notes
by
Qeyamuddin Ahmad
I
National Book Trust, India
ISBN 81-237-0289-2
First Edition 1983
Second Edition 1988
First Reprint 1992
Second Reprint 1993 (Saka 1914)
© National Book Trust, India, 1983
Rs.42.00
Published by the Director, National Book Trust, India
A-5 Green Park, New Delhi -110 016
Contents*
Editor’s Introduction
List of Greek Words in the Text xxxin
Preface
CHAPTER I
On The Hindus In General, As An Introduction To 7
Our Account Of Them
CHAPTER II
On The Belief Of The Hindus In God 13
CHAPTER III
On The Hindu Belief As To Created Things, Both 16
“Intelligibilia” And “Sensibilia”
CHAPTER IV
From What Cause Action Originates, And How The 22
Soul Is Connected With Matter
CHAPTER V
On The State Of The Souls, And Their Migrations 25
Through The World In The Metempsychosis
CHAPTER VI
On The Different Worlds, And On The Places Of 28
Retribution In Paradise And Hell
CHAPTER VII
On The Nature Of Liberation From The World, And 32
On The Path Leading Thereto
* Al-Biruni’s own synopsis of the single chapters of the book.
The page numbers of the chapters are of the present abridged edition.
VI
India by Al-Biruni
CHAPTER VIII
On The Different Classes of Created Beings, And 39
On Their Names
CHAPTER IX
On The Castes, Called “Colours” ( Varna), And On The 44
Classes Below Them
CHAPTER X
On The Source Of Their Religious And Civil Law, On 48
Prophets, And On The Question Whether Single
Laws Can be Abrogated Or Not
CHAPTER XI
About The Beginning Of Idol-Worship, And A 51
Description Of The Individual Idols
CHAPTER XII
On The Veda, The Puranas, And Other Kinds Of 57
Their National Literature
CHAPTER XIII
Their Grammatical And Metrical Literature 63
CHAPTER XIV
Hindu Literature In The Other Sciences, Astronomy, 69
Astrology, Etc.
CHAPTER XV
Notes On Hindu Metrology, Intended To Facilitate 75
The Understanding Of All Kinds Of Measurements
Which Occur In This Book
CHAPTER XVI
Notes On The Writing Of The Hindus, On Their 79
Arithmetic And Related Subjects, And On Certain
Strange Manners And Customs Of Theirs
CHAPTER XVII
On Hindu Sciences Which Prey On The Ignorance Of
People
89
Contents
CHAPTER XVIII
Various Notes On Their Country, Their Rivers, And
Their Ocean, Itineraries Of The Distances Between
Their Several Kingdoms, And Between The Bound¬
aries Of Their Country
CHAPTER XIX
On The Names Of The Planets, The Signs Of The
Zodiac, The Lunar Stations, And Related Subjects
CHAPTER XX
On The Brahmanda
CHAPTER XXI
Descriptions Of Earth And Heaven According To The
Religious Views Of The Hindus, Based Upon Their
Traditional Literature
CHAPTER XXII
Traditions Relating To The Pole
CHAPTER XXIII
On Mount Meru According To The Belief Of The
Authors Of The Puranas And Of Others
CHAPTER XXIV
. Traditions Of The Puranas Regarding Each Of The
Seven Dvipas
CHAPTER XXV
On The Rivers Of India, Their Sources And Courses
CHAPTER XXVI
On The Shape Of Heaven And Earth According To
The Hindu Astronomers
CHAPTER XXVII
On The First Two Motions Of The Universe (That
From East To West According To Ancient Astro¬
nomers And The Precession Of The Equinoxes),
Both According To Hindu Astronomers And The
Authors Of The Puranas
vm India by Al-Biruni
CHAPTER XXVIII
On The Definition Of The Ten Directions
CHAPTER XXIX
Definition Of The Inhabitable Earth According To
The Hindus
CHAPTER XXX
On Lanka, Or The Cupola Of The Earth
CHAPTER XXXI
On That Difference Of Various Places Which We Call
The Difference Of Longitude
CHAPTER XXXII
On The Notions Of Duration And Time In General,
And On The Creation Of The World And Its
Destruction
132
134
139
142
144
CHAPTER XXXIII
On The Various Kinds Of The Day Or Nychthemeron.
And On Day And Night In Particular
CHAPTER XXXIV
On The Division Of The Nychthemeron Into Minor
Particles Of Time
CHAPTER XXXV
On The Different Kinds Of Months And Years
CHAPTER XXXVI
On The Four Measures Of Time Called Mana
CHAPTER XXXVII
On The Parts Of The Month And The Year
CHAPTER XXXVIII
On The Various Measures Of Time Composed Of
Days, The Life Of Brahman Included
Contents ix
CHAPTER XXXIX
On Measures Of Time Which Are Larger Than The 168
Life Of Brahman
CHAPTER XL
On The Samdhi, The Interval Between Two Periods 169
Of Time, Forming The Connecting Link Between
Them
CHAPTER XLI
Definition Of The Terms “Kalpa” And “Caturyuga”, 171
And An Explication Of The One By The Other
CHAPTER XLII
On The Division Of The Caturyuga Into Yugas, And 173
The Different Opinions Regarding The Latter
CHAPTER XLIII
A Description Of The Four Yugas, And Of All That 175
Is Expected To Take Place At The End Of The
Fourth Yuga
CHAPTER XLIV
On The Manavantaras 179
CHAPTER XLV
On The Constellation Of The Great Bear 180
CHAPTER XLVI
On Narayana, His Appearance At Different Times, 182
And His Names
CHAPTER XLVII
On Vasudeva And The Wars Of The Bharata 184
CHAPTER XLVIII
An Explanation Of The Measure Of An Akshauhini 187
CHAPTER XLIX
A Summary Description Of The Eras 189
X
India by Al-Biruni
CHAPTER L
How Many Star-Cycles There Are Both In A Kalpa 195
And In A “Caturyuga”
CHAPTER LI
An Explanation Of The Terms “Adhimasa”, “Una- 197
ratra”. And The “Aharganas”, As Representing
Different Sums Of Days
CHAPTER LII
On The Calculation Of “Ahargana” In General, That 200
Is, The Resolution Of Years And Months Into Days,
And, Vice Versa, The Composition Of Years And
Months Out Of Days
CHAPTER LIII
On The Ahargana, Or The Resolution Of Years Into 202
Months, According To Special Rules Which Are
Adopted In The Calendars For Certain Dates Or
Moments Of Time
CHAPTER LIV
On The Computation Of The Mean Places Of The 203
Planets
CHAPTER LV
On The Order Of The Planets, Their Distances And 205
Sizes
CHAPTER LVI
On The Stations Of The Moon 208
CHAPTER LVII
On The Heliacal Risings Of The Stars, And On The 211
Ceremonies And Rites Which The Hindus Practise
At Such A Moment
CHAPTER LVIII
How Ebb And Flow Follow Each Other In The Ocean 213
Contents
xi
CHAPTER LIX
On The Solar And Lunar Eclipses 216
CHAPTER LX
On The Parvan 219
CHAPTER LXI
On The Dominants Of The Different Measures Of 220
Time In Both Religious And Astronomical Relations,
And On Connected Subjects
CHAPTER LXII
On The Sixty Years—Samvatsara, Also Called 221
“Shashtyabda”
CHAPTER LXIII
On That Which Especially Concerns The Brahmans, 223
And What They Are Obliged To Do During Their
Whole Life
CHAPTER LXIV
On The Rites And Customs Which The Other Castes, 228
Besides The Brahmans, Practise During Their
Lifetime
CHAPTER LXV
On The Sacrifices 230
CHAPTER LXVI
On Pilgrimage And The Visiting Of Sacred Places 232
CHAPTER LXVII
On Alms, And How A Man Must Spend What He 235
Earns
CHAPTER LXVIII
On What Is Allowed And Forbidden In Eating And 237
Drinking
India by Al-Biruni
xii
CHAPTER LXIX
On Matrimony, The Menstrual Courses, Embryos, 239
And Childbed
CHAPTER LXX
On Lawsuits 243
CHAPTER LXXI
On Punishments And Expiations 245
CHAPTER LXXII
On Inheritance, And What Claim The Deceased 248
Person Has On It
CHAPTER LXXIII
About What Is Due To The Bodies Of The Dead And 251
Of The Living (i.e. About Burying And Suicide)
CHAPTER LXXIV
On Fasting, And The Various Kinds Of It 254
CHAPTER LXXV
On The Determination Of The Fast-Days 256
CHAPTER LXXVI
On The Festivals And Festive Days 258
CHAPTER LXXVII
On Days Which Are Held In Special Veneration, On 263
Lucky And Unlucky Times, And On Such Times
As Are Particularly Favourable For Acquiring In
Them Bliss In Heaven
CHAPTER LXXVIII
On The Karanas
CHAPTER LXXIX
On The Yogas
266
268
Contents
xiii
CHAPTER LXXX
On The Introductory Principles Of Hindu Astrology, 269
With A Short Description Of Their Methods Of
Astrological Calculations
Select References 275
Notes 277
Index 291
Abbreviations
ACV, Al-Biruni Commemoration Volume, 1951.
IC, Islamic Culture.
II, Indo-Iranka published by the Iran Society, Calcutta.
JBORS, Journal of Bihar & Orissa Research Society.
JPHS, Journal of Pakistan Historical Society.
Editor's Introduction
My book is nothing but a simple historic record of facts. I shall
place before the readers the theories of the Hindus exactly as they are,
and I shall mention in connection with them similar theories of Greeks
in order to show the relationship existing between them. .. .
Before entering on our exposition,we must form an adequate idea of
that which makes it so particularly difficult to penetrate to the essential
nature of any Indian subject. The knowledge of these difficulties will
either facilitate the progress of our work, or serve as an apology for any
shortcoming of ours. ...
First, they differ from us in everything which other nations have in
common. A nd here we first mention the language. . .. If you want to
conquer this difficulty (ie. to learn Sanskrit), you will not find, it easy
because the language is of enormous range, both in words and
inflections. .. .
Add to this that the Indian scribes are careless, and do not take pains
to produce correct and well-collated copies. . ..
Secondly, they totally differ from us in religion. . .. They consider as
impure anything which touches the fire and the water of a foreigner.. ..
In the third place, in all manners and usages they differ from us... .
with our dress, and our ways and customs. . . .
There are other causes. ... [such as] peculiarities of their national
character. .. .
Now such is the state of things in India. I have found it very difficult
to work my way into the subject, although I have a great liking for it ...
and although I do not spare either trouble or money in collecting
Sanskrit books. . ..
Ignoring the rather old style of writing, these lines may easily
be mistaken as extracts from the introduction of some recent book on
India by a foreign social scientist. Actually these have been taker
from the opening pages of a book which was written by a man bom a.
little over one thousand years ago. Its author was alien to Indian
culture but he made such an extraordinarily conscientious effort to
XVI
India by Al-Biruni
understand it and to present it sympathetically to his own people that
he has been rightly hailed as ‘the first of the scientific Indologists,
and one of the greatest of all times.’ 1 The title of the book is Kitdbji
Tahqiq ma li'l Hind min Maqala Maqbo/a fi'l Wql ao MardhTila , popularly
referred to as Kitabul Hind , and its author was Abu Raihan
Muhammad ibn Ahmad, more commonly called Al-Biruni. 2
Al-Biruni was bom in A.D. 973 in the territory of Khwarizm, 3 then
under the control of the Samanid ruling dynasty (874-999) of
Transoxiana and Persia. He was not born within the city itself but in
a suburban area: hence the epithet of Al-Biruni, which has almost
substituted his name in popular usage. Biruni is a Persian word,
meaning ‘of or belonging to the outside* in the present context it
denotes the outskirts of the town of Khwarizm. 4
Some early Arabic works, dealing with the life of Al-Biruni, state
that Birun was the name of a town in Sindh, and that Al-Biruni was
so-called because he was born there. This, however, is a mis¬
conception which seems to have arisen because there was a town
named Nirun in Sindh, and due to the copyist's error it was misread
as Birun and it came to be regarded as Al-Biruni’s birth-place. 5 6 The
latter’s keen interest in Indian culture was perhaps taken as indicative
of his Indian origin.
Al-Biruni was a Muslim of Iranian origin. Not much is known
about his early life^and upbringing, but he seems to have had very
good opportunities of learning during his childhood. He remained an
1 S.K. Chatteiji, ‘Al-Biruni and Sanskrit*, Al-Birum Commemoration Volume, 1951,
(hereafter cited as ACV), p. 83.
2 Opinions differ about the correct transliteration of this word. For a discussion see
A C V, pp. XIV, 195-196, 290. Edward C. Sachau, editor and translator of Kitabul
Hind, has spelled it Al-Beruni, but I have preferred the spelling Al-Biruni, adopted by
the Iran Society in ACV.
3 The modem Khiva. A Khanate of Turkistan in Central Asia in the 19th century, it is
now part of the Uzbekistan Republic of USSR.
4 It has also been suggested that although Al-Biruni was bom in Khwarizm, his
parents were of Persian origin and would have been regarded as strangers to the place;
hence the ‘Persian nickname of Biruni (outsiders)*. A. Yusuf Ali, ‘ AlBiruni’s India’,
Islamic Culture, Vol. I, 1927, p. 33.
5 Abdus Salam Nadvi, ‘Al-Biruni* (in Urdu), ACV, p. 255.
6 Definite information is not available about Al-Biruni’s religious beliefs, and
opinions vary on the point.
Hitti, ( History of the Arabs, 1968 edition, p. 377) calls him a ‘Shiite with agnostic
leanings* while ACV (p. XIV) mentions him as a ‘Sunni Muslim by conviction with
Ismailian sympathies in religion and universalist tendencies in philosophy.’
Editor's Introduction
XVII
avid reader throughout his life. A story is related that even when he
was dying and a friend came in to see him, Al-Biruni enquired about
the solution of some mathematical problem regarding which that
friend had spoken to him earlier. The friend was shocked that he was
worrying about such things in that condition. Al-Biruni replied with
a great effort, and wanted to know if it was not desirable that he
should die with the knowledge of the solution of that problem rather
than without it. The friend gave him the desired information, and as
he walked out of the room, he heard people crying on the death of
Al-Biruni.
Al-Biruni was a great linguist and a prolific writer. Besides his
mother tongue, Khwarizmi—‘an Iranian dialect of the North with
strong Turkish influence’—he knew Hebrew, Syriac and Sanskrit. Of
Greek he had no direct knowledge but was well-acquainted with the
works of Plato and other Greek masters through Syriac and Arabic
translations. Of Arabic and Persian, of course, he had a deep
knowledge, and wrote most of his works, including the Kitabu’l Hind
in the former language, because it was the international language of
the times, the repository of the scientific works of the whole civilised
world, and the medium of valuable contributions to different
branches of science and literature.
The early years of Al-Biruni’s life coincided with a period of
rather quick, violent, political changes in Central Asia, and some of
these had their impact upon his life and work. He first lived under the
patronage of the local ruling dynasty of Khwarizm, the Maimunids,
who threw off the yoke of the Samanids around 995. This seems to
have adversely affected Al-Biruni’s fortunes; he moved out of
Khwarizm and lived for sometime in Juijan (the area to the south¬
east of the Caspian Sea)fin the court of Shamsul Ma’ali Qabus bin
Washmgir, to whom he dedicated one of his earliest and'most
valuable works,/l//zan/7 Bdqiya'an al-Qimm al-khaliyah . 1 He seems to
have returned to Khwarizm and lived there for some time, when, in
1017, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (999-1030) invaded and annexed
that kingdom. Among the important personages of the Khwarizm
court who were taken to the victor’s capital city, Ghazni, was
Al-Biruni. Since then he lived and worked there most of the time,
until his death at the age of 75 in A H. 440 (1048-1049). 2
1 Edited and translated into English by Edward C. Sachau under the title of lb
Chronology of Ancient Nations ,London, 1879.
2 1 c I. p. XVI.
xviii India by Al-Biruni
Al-Biruni’s' position in the court of Sultan Mahmud is not quite
clear. He was some sort of a hostage, but an honoured one because
of his scholarly attainments, particularly his high reputation as an
astronomer and astrologer. However, his relations with Sultan
Mahmud do not seem to have been very close or cordial. His famous
work on India was prepared during the reign of Sultan Mahmud
(around 1030) but he refers to the Sultan only on a few occasions
and that too very tersely.
It is to this period of his stay in Ghazni that the beginnings of his
interest in India and the Indians can be traced. As we know, many
important Indian works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine
had been translated into Arabic long ago, during the early Abbassid
period. Some of these must have been available to Al-Biruni. This is
evident from the Kit abut Hind itself in which Al-Biruni refers to the
Sanskrit manuscripts consulted by him, the copyists’ errors in some
of these, etc. During his stay at Ghazni, Al-Biruni must have had
greater opportunities of pursuing his studies on India. The city was
the chief political and cultural centre of Islam in the eastern region,
and it must have attracted accomplished persons from the
neighbouring countries including India. It also contained a number
of Indian prisoners of war, skilled artisans and learned men who
were brought over in the wake of Sultan Mahmud’s invasions on
India. Moreover, the Punjab with its large majority of the Hindus
had become a part of the Ghaznavid empire. At Ghazni, as also
some of the Indian towns visited by him, 1 2 Al-Biruni must have come
into contact with many a learned Indian scholar and pandit.
S.K. Chatteiji suggests 3 that Al-Biruni established some sort of an
academic rapport with them through the West Punjabi dialect which
he must have picked up, or through Persian which some of the
Indians might have learnt.
Al-Biruni refers (p. 194 ) 4 to a letter which Anandapala of the
1 In great contrast to this is his attitude towards Mahmud’s son, Sultan Mas‘ud
(1030-1040) to whom he dedicated his greatest work Al-Qanun Al-Mas'udi fi’l Hai’ah
wa’l Nujurn, and paid fulsome tributes. The concluding part of Al-Biruni’s life, spent in
Mas'ud's court, was one of comparative material prosperity and affluence.
2 In a rather inadequately noticed passage Al-Biruni mentions some of the towns in
India which he actually visited (p. 143).
3 Article cited above.
4 This and the subsequent references to page numbers within brackets in the Introduc¬
tion indicate the pages of the present abridged edition.
Editor's Introduction
xix
Hindu Shahiya dynasty wrote to Sultan Mahmud offering military
help to him for suppressing a Turkish rebellion in Khurasan.
Anandapala wrote that since he himself had been ‘conquered' by
Sultan Mahmud he did not want that the Sultan should be
‘conquered' by someone else. 1 Such diplomatic exchanges pre¬
suppose the presence of persons who knew the official languages
used in the courts of Sultan Mahmud and some of the Indian rulers. 2
Connected with this is the question of Al-Biruni's readers not only
for the KitSbu'l Hind but some of his other books too. That there was
a continuing interest in Indian scientific treatises and other works in
some Muslim circles is evident from the writing of the Kitabu'l Hind
itself. Al-Biruni’s significant concluding remark that what he had
related in that book was ‘sufficient for anyone who wants to . . .
discuss with them (the Hindus) questions of religion, science or
literature on the very basis of their own civilisation’ shows that there
were such persons. But not so well appreciated is the fact that there
were also some Indian Hindu readers Al-Biruni had in his mind. He
specifically mentions about his ‘being occupied in composing for the
Hindus a translation of the books of Euclid and of the Almagest,
and dictating to them a treatise on the construction of the astrolabe’
(p. 65). At another place he refers to a book, the Arabic Khanda-
khadyaka, which he had composed for a Kashmiri Indian named
Sayavabala (p. 268).
It has been suggested that a feeling of shared adversity brought Al-
Biruni and the Hindus close to each other. 3 Of this we do not have
any direct evidence but; as we know, Al-Biruni was deeply
interested in astronomy and mathematics since an earlier period of
his life, and he must have taken full advantage of the opportunities of
direct contact with Indian scholars during his stay at Ghazni. A
considerable body of Indian scientific literature was available in
Arabic translations and Al-Biruni would have been familiar with
some of it. While living at Ghazni he got additional opportunities of
securing first-hand information by personal contact with Indians and
by direct study of Sanskrit sources. As we know, he paid visits to and
lived in different parts of the Punjab, and the possibility of travels
to other parts of India cannot be ruled out. Al-Biruni’s serious
1 This is an interesting commentary on contemporary ideas of political behaviour and
chivalry.
2 See Note 46.
3 Sachau, Alberuni’s India, Preface, p. XVII.
XX
India by Al-Biruni
interest in Indian sciences, religion and philosophy began under
these circumstances, and the collection of materials for the Kitabu’l
Hind , as also perhaps its preliminary draft, was completed during
this period.
Various estimates have been made about the number of books
written by Al-Biruni. Yaqut (1179-1229) claims to have seen in
Merv a list of books written by Al-Biruni which was spread over
sixty closely transcribed pages, while another writer mentions that
the weight of the books written by Al-Biruni was more than a
camel’s load! More specific but still astounding is the information
given by Al-Biruni himself who mentions the names of 114 of his
books in a letter which he wrote to a friend some 13 years before his
death. 1 This too is not a complete list. Apart from the likelihood of
Al-Biruni having written some more books during the remaining
years of his life, there are references to some other titles not
mentioned in his list. Regrettably, the bulk of his works has either
been lost or is lying unpublished. Only two, 2 the Atharu’lBaqiya and
the Kitabu’l Hind are available in printed edition,and English transla¬
tion, due largely to the scholarly devotion of the great German
scholar, Edward Carl Sachau (1845-1930).
Sachau was bom at Neumunster on 20 July 1845, and served as
Professor of Semitic Languages in the University of Vienna (1869) and
later as Professor of Oriental Languages in the Royal University of
Berlin. He remained engaged with the study of the Kitdbu'l Hind for
long, and some particulars of the editing of its text and translation
into English, as also the latter’s subsequent editions and translation
into languages other than English, may be noted. A copy of the
Arabic manuscript was prepared and collated in 1872-73, and
Sachau first translated it into German. Later, as the Arabic text 3 was
being printed in 1885, Sachau 'translated the whole book a second
time "Into English, finishing the translation of every sheet as the
original was carried through in the press/ 4 The English translation
1 Abdus Salam Nadvi's article cited above.
2 Muhammad Abdur Rahman Khan's .guticlejOn the Minor .Tracts of Abu Raihan
Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Biruni', A C V, pp. 171-175, refers to the publication of the
text and translation of another wofk of Al-Biruni, Kitabu’t infhirn li Awa'tl Sana’atu t
Ianjim . by R. Ramsay Wright, Lpndon, 1934..
3 Another edition, of the Arabic text based upon a rm. copy in the Bibliotheque
Nationale, Paris, has been brought out by Dairatu'l Ma'arif, Hyderabad, 1958.
4 Edward C. Sachau, Eng. tr., AIberum's India, New Delhi, 1964, Preface, p.XLVIII
Editor's Introduction
xxi
with exhaustive notes was first published in two volumes in London
in 1888.' Later, a one-volume edition was published from the same
place in 1910. The former was re-printed in Pakistan in 1962, and
the latter in India (S. Chand, New Delhi) in 1964.
The book was translated into Hindi by Shantaram and published
by the Indian Press Limited, Allahabad, in 1926-28; it was again
translated into Hindi by Rajnikanta Sharma and published from the
same place in 1967. An Urdu translation in two volumes done by
Syed Asghar Ali was brought out by the Anjurnan Tamqqi-i Urdu
in i94i_42. A Russian translation by A.B. Khalidov and Y.N.
Zavadovskii was published under the editorship of A.I. Belyaev in
Tashkent (U.S.S.R.) in 1963. More recently, the Arabic text has
been translated into Bengali by A.B.M. Habibullah and published
by the Bangla Academy, Dacca, Bangladesh, in 1974. An abridged
edition-of Sachau’s English translation based on a method different
from the one adopted here was prepared by Ainslie T. Embree and
published in New York, 1971. In the present abridged edition an
attempt has been made to draw the general readers’ attention to the
approach and methodology of Al-Biruni, the core of his direct
observations on the Indian society and sciences, and to some of the
significant specific portions which have not received adequate
attention.
Al-Biruni’s long account is divided into eighty chapters, each with
a sub-heading indicating the topic or topics to which it relates. The
first chapter is an introductory one in which Al-Biruni discusses the
difficulties (difference of language, religious and racial prejudices,
etc.) one had to face in preparing a dispassionate account of the
Indian society, and explains the methodology adopted by him. This
is followed by chapters on Religion and Philosophy (II-VIII), Social
Organisation, Civil and Religious Laws, Iconography (IX-XI),
Religious and Scientific Literature (XII-XIV, XVI), Metrology,
Weights and Measures, Alchemy (XV, XVII), Geography, Cosmo-
1 The publication of both the text and translation received the patronage of the India
Office, London.
2 This is a photographic reproduction of the 2-volume edition, London, 1888. This
process was perhaps responsible for the practical difficulties in deleting unrequired
materials from within a chapter, page or paragraph. Several chapters not considered
relevant have therefore been deleted, though brief indication of the topics concerned
have been given at the end of the preceding ones. The Introduction presents a critical
survey of the contents of the work and stresses its significance.
xxii
India by Al-Biruni
graphy, Astronomy, Chronology and related subjects (XVIII-
LXII), Social Life, Manners and Customs, Festivals, etc. (LXIII-
LXXIX), and Astrology (LXXX).
There is some degree of overlapping, but these apparent
repetitions are not due to any lack of attention, because Al-Biruni
himself explains that one could not always adhere to the
‘geometrical method’, only referring to that which precedes and
never to that which follows. One had often to introduce in a chapter
an unknown factor, the explanation of which could only be given in a
later part of the book (p. 12). Al-Biruni also often repeats certain
information because he considered such repetition to be useful. It
facilitated the learning of a subject (which in this case was a
completely new one), because learning was the ‘fruit of repetition’.
The chapters generally begin with a brief, neat,introduction to the
topic concerned, then comes the descriptive portion, followed by
relevant extracts from the original sources. Care is taken to indicate
the differences if any in the original sources, the textual errors due to
copyists’ mistakes, the correct transliteration and explanation of
key-words (p. 12) and the incompleteness of information on any
particular subject. On a few occasions Al-Biruni refers to some
individual Indians or a group of them from whom he obtained some
information, (pp.76, 77 and 222). But he did not accept such testi¬
monies uncritically. He tried to verify such information by asking the
same question from different reporters and in different order. He
refers to one such case and expresses surprise at the ‘different
answers’ he got from different persons when thus cross-examined.
He adds sardonically, ‘But lo! what different answers did I get! God
is all-wise!’ (p. 222).
Al-Biruni honestly notes about the incompleteness of his
information on any topic (pp. 60, 70, 74, 117, etc.). However, while
he draws attention to insufficient information, he does not regard it
as a justification to omit all discussion on that topic* he prefers to
record whatever information is available (p. 95). Finally attention is
drawn to similar ideas and practices among other nations in earlier
periods. All this indicates a surprisingly modem scientific metho¬
dology and a comparative approach.
1 Chapter XVI relates to the different languages, scripts and numerical signs current
in the different parts of the country, but its concluding portion gives an account of the
‘strange manners and customs of the Hindus’ which better fits in with chapters LXIII-
LXIV.
Editor's Introduction
XXlll
Particularly significant is Al-Biruni’s sociological insight, which is
quite evident in the chapters dealing with the caste system, the civil
and religious laws, idols and idol-worshipping, etc. For example, in
explaining the origin of the caste system he points out that if‘a new
order of things in political or social life’ is introduced by a strong-
minded individual and supported by religious sanction, it gradually
turns into the accepted social norm (p. 44). The kings of the ancient
period, who were conscious of their duties and obligations, took care
to create and maintain the ‘division of their subjects into different
classes and orders, enjoining upon each a particular kind of work and
prohibiting any intermixture between these (pp. 44-45). Any
attempt howsoever well-intentioned and by howsoever meritorious a
person to transgress these restrictions was punished (p. 228). He
also stresses the role of the State in preserving the established social
order and adds that harmony between ‘these twins. State and
religion’, has a salutary effect on the society. Again, while discussing
the nature of Hindu religious law and the question of its abrogation,
he stresses the very important point about changes in law being
‘necessitated by the change of the nature of man’ and by the fact of
the laws becoming too exacting for the people concerned (p. 49).
Al-Biruni also takes note of ancient Indian traditions in which
indications of such sociological insight are evident. For example, he
approvingly quotes a tradition from Saunaka (pp. 233—234), taken
probably from the Vishnu-Dharma in which ecological differences and
the multiplicity of social organisations have been considered as essen¬
tial for the development of human civilisation. Mutual assistance
which is the basis of civilisation, presupposes mutual differences ‘in
consequence of which one requires the help of the other.’ It is noted
further that customs and usages make people live and act in a
particular manner, and when to these are added, the weight of
religious commands the habits grow more binding, because while the
former are open to criticism and modification, the latter are not. To
some extent patriotism too is rooted in the attachment of the people
to the climatic conditions and socio-religious set-up of the areas in
which they have been living.
Attention may also be drawn to Al-Biruni’s observations on the
causes and utility of wars in connection with his account of the great
Mahabharata wars. He expresses certain ideas which seem
surprisingly similar to the theory of-natural selection and the survival
XXIV
India by Al-Biruni
of the fittest, and which indicate some awareness of the need to
preserve what is nowadays called the ecological balance. He writes:
I he life of the world depends upon sowing and procreating. Both processes
increase in course of time, and this increase is unlimited, xuhilst the world is
limited.
When a class of plants or animals does not increase any more in its structure
ami its peculiar kind is established as a species of its own, when each
individual of it does not simplycome into existence once and perish, but besides
procreates a being like itself or several together. .. . Then this will as a single
species ofplants or animals occupy the earth and spread itself and its kind over
as much territory as it can find. . . .
The forester leaves those branches which he perceives to be excellent whilst he
cuts away all others ....
Nature proceeds in a similar way; however it does not distinguish, for its
action is under all circumstances one and the same. . . . If thus the earth is
ruined, or is near to be ruined, by having too many inhabitants, its ruler. . . .
sends it a messenger for the purpose of reducing too great the numbers and of
cutting away all that is evil (p. 184).
Turning to the specific topics covered by Al-Biruni, one is amazed
by the range of his interest. Though concerned mainly with the
religious and intellectual aspects, he writes about many other things
too—the social and religious conditions, food and dress, games and
pastimes, weights and measures, law-suits and superstitions, etc. At
the same time one cannot help noticing the silence on some other
important aspects. About the political aspect, it is understandable for
they are too obviously outside the scope of his work, and had,
moreover, been attended to in other extant works. More difficult to
understand is the silence about such other topics as trade, industry,
agriculture, arts and architecture, 1 etc.
On social conditions, the chapters on the caste system and the
rites and customs which the Brahmans and members of the other
castes had to follow (pp. 45-47, 223-229), constitute the most
valuable part of the book. No such detailed and perceptive account
of the caste system as it prevailed in early medieval India is
available in any other non-Indian source. This portion seems to be
1 There is a brief admiring reference to the construction of ponds with stepped
embankments (p. 232). On another occasion when Al-Biruni is mentioning the name
of an Indian book on architecture (p. 73 j there is a lacuna in the original Arabic text.
This is rather unfortunate; the missing portion would have provided us with
information on a neglected topic.
Editor’s Introduction
XXV
based partly on the position stated in the standard religious texts but
it throws some new light too. Thus for example, one notices some
sort of a pairing of the Brahmans and the Kshatriyas on the one hand
and the Vaisyas and the Sudras on the other in regard to some of the
things they could or could not do (pp. 47, 229, 240-241).
The reference to members of the different varnas living ‘together
in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses
and lodgings’ (p. 46) indicates some degree of inter-caste marriages,
at least among the Vaisyas and the Sudras. That inter-marriage was
common among the Antyaja, ‘who are not reckoned among any
caste, but only as members of a certain craft or profession is
specifically stated by Al-Biruni (ibid).
It also appears that the caste gradation, apart from its validity in
social and religious matters, had some bearing on other matters too,
as for example polygamy 1 2 and the period of confinement after child¬
birth. Al-Biruni writes that some Hindus were of the view that the
number of wives depends upon the caste; that accordingly, a
Brahman could take four wives, a Kshatriya three, a Vaisya two and
a Sudra one (p. 240). On the other point, he writes that the period of
confinement was 8 days for the Brahman, 12 for the Kshatriya. 15
for Vaisya and 30 for Sudra women (p. 241). It may be remarked
here that among the poor people, for whom every working hand was
important, the longer period of confinement would have caused
some economic difficulty.
On education, regional languages and scripts, too, there are
valuable bits of information. We are told about the use of slate
(black tablet) and chalk (white material) for writing by the children
in the school (p ; 86). We also get a description of the manner in
which writing materials were prepared from the barks and leaves of
different kinds of trees and the methods by which palm-leaf
manuscripts were bound and preserved (p. 80). Pieces of silken
cloth were also used for writing, though in very special cases
(p. 193).
The writing or the alphabet ‘of the Hindus' consisted of*50 letters
1 He mentions (p. 86) another very interesting practice prevailing in the eastern parts
of the country of loving the younger child more because the eldest one owed his birth
to ‘predominant lust’ while the younger one was due to ‘mature reflection and calm
proceeding'!
2 In many a private collection of books and manuscripts the palm-leaf manuscripts are
still preserved exactly in the same manner.
xxvi India by Al-Biruni
t
which had developed by a gradual process. The large number of
letters was due, among other things, to the fact that their language
had many sounds which were not to be found in other languages.
There follows a very graphic description of the writing of ‘the
Hindus’— The Hindus write from the left to the right like the
Greeks. They do not write on the basis of a line, above which the
heads of the letters rise whilst their tails go down below, as in Arabic
writing. On the contrary, their ground-line is above, a straight line
above every single character, and from this line the letter hangs
down and is written under it. Any sign above it is nothing but a gram¬
matical mark to denote the pronunciation of the character above
which it stands’ (pp. 81).
Al-Biruni goes on to enumerate some of the other regional
languages and scripts and the areas in which they were used. He
mentions one, called ‘Bhaikshuki’ (p. 81) which was used in
Udunpur in Purvadesa, 1 and which was ‘the writing of Buddha’
[Buddhists?]. It may be noted here that unlike the other languages
listed areawise, Bhaikshuki was not the exclusive language of a
particular area but that of a religious group living in that area.
The account of the principal festivals (pp. 258-62) provides an
interesting reading. Even at this distance of time a present-day reader
can identify some of the festivals, such as the Holi Durga Puja and the
Dipavali He can also notice the continuity, as well as change, in
regard to some rites and ceremonies observed on these occasions.
The information available in the ancient and early medieval Indian
digests on these points is of course there but Al-Biruni’s account
constitutes a different, supplementary, category of source-material,
and sheds light from a different angle.
Al-Biruni believed that knowledge was truly international, that
ideas and major discoveries by whomsoever and wherever made
benefited all nations (p. 69). That he believed in the usefulness of
spreading knowledge beyond one’s own frontiers is evident from
what he writes about his being ‘occupied in composing for the
Hindus a translation of the books of Euclid and of the Almagest, and
dictating to them a treatise on the construction of the astrolabe’
(p. 65). He also believed that the kings and princes could play an
important part in promoting scientific studies because they alone
Sachau rightly suggests that Udunpur might be identified with the famous Buddhist
monastery of Udandapuri. It is situated in the present Nalanda district of Bihar. See
also note 30A
Editor's Introduction
xxvii
could free the scholars from material worries and enable them to
pursue their studies with 'contentment and devotion (p. 69).
However, ‘the present times’, Al-Biruni ruefully adds, were not
opportune. Neither was royal and princely patronage available, nor
the ‘public mind’ directed towards the sciences. It was, therefore,
impossible that ‘a new science or a new kind of research' should
arise. What existed was nothing but the ‘scanty remains of bygone
better times.’ This remark of Al-Biruni about the arrested growth of
Indian scientific studies finds support by the fact that some of the
standard works available to, and used by him, were those which
had been written centuries ago. Al-Biruni further remarks that not all
the rulers and rich men were conscious of ‘the nobility of science.’
That explained as to why they did not call at the doors of the
scholars whereas the scholars always flocked to the doors of the rich
(p. 90). At the same time Al-Bifuni thought that the kings and
princes played an mportant role in promoting arts and sciences for
they alone could free the scholars from material worries and enable
them to continue their studies (p. 69).
Among the ‘Hindu’ sciences Al-Biruni devotes special attention to
that of astronomy partly because it was ‘the most famous among
them’ and partly because of his own interest in the subject. While
admiring their proficiency in this branch of knowledge he stresses the
sharp distinction between ‘the two theories, the vulgar and the
scientific’. The two had got inter-mingled with the passage of time,
and that was why in their mathematical and astronomical literature
one found ‘scientific theorems’ mixed up with ‘silly notions of the
crowd’ (p. 11); it was a mixed bag of‘pearl shells and sour dates-
of costly crystals and common pebbles’ (p. 12). That was because
they did not apply ‘strictly scientific deduction' (p. 12 ). At another
place, Al-Biruni mentions some of the factors responsible for such
an attitude. Among these were a lack of courage to hold firmly to
one’s convictions, as Socrates had done (pp. 11,218), pull of social
ties and fear of social odium (pp. 217—18).
Al-Biruni also writes about some other ‘Hindu’ sciences, such as
alchemy, metrology and medicine. Under the first-named, he refers
to the use of the processes of sublimation, calcination and waxing of
talc. He, however, comments sarcastically on the pseudo-science of
rasayam whose adepts sought to make gold out of baser metals, and
condemns ‘the greediness of the ignorant Hindu princes for gold¬
making.' They would resort to even inhuman practices such as
xxviii India by Al-Biruni
killing of children by throwing them into fire if some misguided prac¬
titioner of msayana were to tell them about some such wild ‘scheme
of gold-making.’ Finally, Al-Biruni observes that ‘the Hindus’
cultivated numerous other branches of science and literature, and
adds with characteristic modesty of a true scholar that he could not
‘comprehend’ them all with his limited knowledge.
In religion, too, a distinction had to be made between the beliefs of
the educated class of the Hindus and those of the common masses.
The former’s conception of God was strictly monotheistic—‘God-
is one, eternal, without beginning and end, acting by freewill,
almighty. ... living, giving life, ruling, preserving’. On the other
hand, there was the widely prevalent practice of idol-worshipping
among the masses. But Al-Biruni does not just denounce it, but tries
to understand it and to explain it to his readers. He points out that
the popular mind had an aversion to abstract thought and leaned
towards the sensible world. This led to the setting up of monuments
and making of idols to preserve the memory of, and show veneration
to, prophets and sages. With the passage of time the circumstances
of the origin were forgotten but the practice remained, and a feeling
of veneration for the idols became ingrained among the people (p.
52). it is evident that Al-Biruni in spite of his personal feeling of
abhorrence is trying to give his readers an objective account of the
practice of idol-worshipping among the Hindus.
Matters of economic interest are comparatively less attended to
but Al-Biruni's insight into such diverse things as the economic
reasons for the importance of Somanath (p. 214), the prohibition of
cow-slaughter (p. 238), the prevalence of prostitution (p.;242), etc.
is remarkable. He explains that Somanath had become so famous
because it was a harbour for sea-faring people and a station for the
traders operating between the East African coast and China. As for
cow-slaughter, it was prohibited because of the manifold utility of
the cow for agricultural and domestic purposes. Regarding the
prostitutes, he observes that kings used them as ‘an attraction for
their cities, a bait of pleasure for their subjects, for no other but
financial reasons.’ The revenue earned from them as fines and taxes
was spent on the army.
There is an incidental but important reference which shows that
political expediency rather than religious sentiments often guided the
actions of some of the early Muslim rulers. Mentioning the conquest
of Multan by Muhammad bin Qasim, Al-Biruni writes that the
Editor’s Introduction xxix
conqueror let the idol remain where it was (though after desecrating
it) when he learnt that the temple and the idol were the cause of the
accumulation of treasures in the town and of its flourishing condi¬
tion (p. 53). More telling is the account of the sending of‘golden
idols adorned with crowns and diamonds , captured in Sicily during
the Caliphate of Mu’awiya (651-680), to Sindh for selling them to
the princes of that country. The caliph did not feel any scruple about
making money out of the sale of ‘objects of abominable idolatry’
because he was looking at the matter from ‘a political, not from a
religious point of view’ (p. 56).
The references to principles of taxation and the ideas regarding
the division of income (p. 235) also deserve notice. The emphasis on
maintaining sizeable reserves for emergencies, ‘to guarantee the
heart against anxiety’, as Al-Biruni puts it, explains the habit of
hoarding and non-investment in trade and manufacture. Also to be
noted is the reference to religious restrictions on occupational
mobility and to the desirability of Brahmans not taking to trade
‘except in case of dire necessity’ and then also in the trade of clothes
and betel-nuts only (p. 225). Trade was undesirable for the
Brahmans because it involved ‘deceiving and lying’. ‘Usury or taking
of percentages’ was also forbidden, except in the case of the Sudras
who could charge interest upto 2 per cent (p. 236). That Al-Biruni
had an eye for significant bits of information from amongst legal and
other details is evident from his reference to the hermaphrodite being
reckoned as a male being for purposes of inheritance.
While giving an account of the physical geography of the country
Al-Biruni seems to have an eye for everything, ranging from the
shape, size and make of rocks and stones (p. 94) to the anthro¬
pological features and costumes of the people (p. 96). In the
geographical portion of his account, he depends not so much upon
extracts from books, as on scientific observation and calculations.
The description of the main routes' to the different parts of the
country and the calculation of distances between the important
towns (p. 95ff) constitute a very important portion of Al-Biruni’s
account, but its proper utilisation requires the arduous work of
identifying all the place-names and working out the exact Indian
equivalents of the units of measurements used by Al-Biruni.
1 Al-Biruni mentions sixteen important routes originating from Kanauj, Mathura,
Anhilwara and Dhar. He probably obtained this information from the military and
civil officers of Sultan Mahmud who were more familiar with that part of the country.
XXX
India by Al-Biruni
Sometimes, very valuable pieces of information are given by Al-
Bjruni while discussing a rather unconnected topic. Thus, while
describing the 'alphabets of the Hindus’ used in the different parts of
the country, and referring to the ‘ Karnata ’ used in Kamatadesa, he
mentions that the group of soldiers in Sultan Mahmud’s army called
the Kannara were recruited from Kamatadesa (p. 81). Again, while
writing about the constellation of the Great Bear he states that ‘our
time’ (Le., the time of the writing of Kitabu'l Hind, or A.H. 421) cor¬
responded to 952nd year of the Sakakala (p. 180). This provides
indirect corroborative evidence on the concordance of the Saka era
with the Christian era, and supports the view that it commenced in
A.D. 78. As we know, A.H. 421 corresponds to A.D. 1030, and 952
added to 78 yields 1030. At another place, while discussing the
methods of determining longitudes, he lists some of the towns in
India which he had visited and of which he had determined the
longitudes himself (p. 143). This information, which has not
received adequate attention, has a bearing on the question of Al-
Biruni’s travels inside India, on which opinions differ. For example,
while writing about the divisions of time, he mentions the clepsydrae,
a mechanism for determining the passing of a unit of time called
ghati which he had seen at Peshawar, and to the endowments made
by pious people for administering these clepsydrae (p. 156). 1
The most remarkable feature of Al-Biruni’s account is the con¬
scientious and sympathetic approach to the subject of his study. To
realise the significance of this approach one has to bear in mind that
the book was written at a time of recurring military clashes and
increasing ideological and emotional hostility between the Hindus
and the Muslims. At times he uses rather harsh expressions about
some of the Indian customs and practices, and he is particularly
critical of what he considered as some sort of a superiority-complex,
and an attitude of insularity, among the Hindus (pp 10-11, 85)
but he takes care to add that such things were not peculiar to the
Hindus alone but were common among other peoples too, including
the pre-Islamic Arabs. He further explains that they appeared so
strange to an outsider like him because there were no such parallels
in his own society (pp. 85, 88).
1 We know of similar arrangements made in the time of Fimz Tughlaq( 1351-88),
and Babur (1526-30) too makes an admiring reference to a similar arrangement he
. had seen in India. The testimony to the continuity of the practice shows that it had
been working since long. __-
Editor's Introduction
xxxi
Also, very significant is Al-Biruni’s concluding remark that his
book was meant for those who wanted to discuss'with the Hindus
‘the questions of religion, science or literature on the very basis of their
own civilisation (p. 272, emphasis added). Much stress is nowadays
being laid by Western scholars to try to understand Oriental cultures
on their own terms and on the basis of the indigenous sources. It is a
measure of Al-Biruni’s greatness that he made such an attempt,
faijHy successfully, about one thousand years ago. In fact, it is this
discerning and basically appreciative approach to the understanding
of an alien culture on its own terms which lifts Al-Biruni's account
much ^bove anything else, written on India in the medieval period.
In this abridged edition of Sachau’s .English translation all the
chapters have been retained in their original order, as also all the
direct observations of Al-Biruni’s on different topics. A considerable
portion of the book relates to astronomy, astrology, chronology and
related subjects, and to Al-Biruni himself this perhaps was the more
important part of his account. However, much of this is not of any
particular interest to the common reader, and has been rendered
obsolete by recent scientific progress. On the other hand, greater
interest is now attached to the portion relating to social organisation,
manners and customs, fairs and festivals, the legal system and topo¬
graphical details, etc. The editing of the text has been done accord¬
ingly. The deleted portions are mainly those which contain technical
details of astronomy and astrology, legends and stories, and
reproduce long extracts from original sources (except where they
relate to some 'significant subject). Such portions are of interest only
to the specialists. The contents of the deleted portions have been
briefly indicated within square brackets, and the numbers of the
pages (New Delhi 1964 reprint) thus summarised given in square
brackets. 1 At a few places there are cross-references, where Al-
Biruni refers to some matter on a preceding page. In such cases the
corresponding page number given in small brackets is of the present
abridged edition. Smaller deletions covering matter within a page or
two have been indicated by three dot marks.
Explanatory notes 2 have been added on some of the books and
authors cited by Al-Biruni and on technical terms occurring in the
1 With Chapter XLIX, Volume II commences, and the pagination begins with l.
2 Footnote numbers are not printed in the body of the text in Sachau's English transla¬
tion; they are arranged page-wise at the end of the book. I have, however, given the
footnote numbers in serial order in the text and arranged the notes at the end of the
book.
XXX11
India by Al-Biruni
texh Some of these are based on Sachau’s own annotations spread
over 150 pages of the book. It was not considered necessary to retain
or to summarise these because many of the notes are of a specialised,
philological interest. Also, some of these needed updating in the
light of recent researches. For the convenience of those interested in
following up any particular part of Al-Biruni’s observations, a
selected list of relevant articles has been given. The index gives
special attention to the portions regarding social organisation,
religion and sciences, etc. A map showing the extent of the empire of
Sultan Mahmud, including the Indian portion of it, has also been
added. An attempt has thus been made to present the kernel of Al-
Biruni’s account in such a manner as to render it meaningful and
enjoyable for a common man to read this great work.
Sultan Mahmud and Al-Biruni symbolise two different aspects of
the contact between the Indian and the Islamic civilisations. While
the former stands for the immediate, external and destructive results,
the latter represents the long-term, internal and constructive impact.
Unfortunately, the common reader, not excluding those interested in
history, know more about the invasions of Sultan Mahmud on India
than about-the scholarly study of the Indian society by Al-Biruni. If
this book could be of some help in correcting the tilt and restoring the
balance it would have amply served its purpose. I feel happy and
encouraged by the fact that this revised second edition of the book is
coming out within only two years of the first one. Some additions
have been made in the extracts from the text, and the Editor’s Intro¬
duction, Select References and Notes have also been revised.
I am indebted to my friend Paul Jackson, S.J., who has
transliterated into Roman script the Greek words occurring in the
English translation. I am thankful to Professor Yogendra Mishra,
former Head, Department of History, Patna University, for some
useful information on the Hindu calendar which helped me prepare
the Notes on the Festivals (pp. 288-90), I am also thankful to my
colleague Dr R.N. Nandi, Reader, Department of History, Patna
College, for the help he gave to me in preparing some of the notes,
and the time he spared in discussing several other matters requiring
elucidation. My son, Imtiaz Ahmad, Lecturer, Department of
History, Patna College, helped me by preparing the Index and
seeing the book through the press.
Q. Ahmad
LIST OF GREEK WORDS IN THE TEXT
Greek words transliterated in the Roman Script as they occur in the
text are given below along with the page numbers of this abridged
edition : the words are separated from each other by (-) if more than
one occur in a page.
Page Greek Words
16 to lanthanein - he dunamis - sophia
17 philasophos - philosophoi
17 mousai
19 en praxei - en dunamei - hule - dunamis - praxis
19 hule
21 hule
23 en praxei - en dunamei
24 dunamis - praxis
32 ta onta
42 hule - hule - en dunamei - hule - hule-hule - hule
76 charistiones
80 ie. tomaria
92 he oikoumene - okeanos
107 aither
109 klimatia
134 oikoumene
135 oikoumene - oikoumene - oikoumene
137 geographia
138 oikoumene
142 oikoumene - oikoumene
144 hule - hule - hule
145 phusike - akroasis
XXXIV
India by Al-Biruni
153 hule - hule - hule
270 tropikon - stereon - disoma
kenlron - epanaphora - apoklima
ta meteora
272
India in a.d. 1030
Composed by
Abu Raihan Muhammad ibn Ahmad
AL-BIRUNI.
_
PREFACE
In the name of God, the Compassionate,
the Merciful
1. On tradition, hearsay and
eye-witness
2. The different kinds of
reporters
3. Praise of truthfulness
No one will deny that in questions of historic authenticity hearsay
does not equal eye-witness; for in the latter the eye of the observer
apprehends the substance of that which
is observed, both in the time when and
in the place where it exists, whilst hearsay
has its peculiar drawbacks. But for these,
it would even be preferable to eye-witness:
for the object of eye-witness can only be actual momentary existence,
whilst hearsay comprehends alike the present, the past, and the future,
so as to apply in a certain sense both to that which is and to that which
is not (i.e., which either has ceased to exist or has not yet come into
existence). Written tradition is one of the species of hearsay—we
might almost say, the most preferable. How could we know the
history of nations but for the everlasting monuments of the pen?
The tradition regarding an event which in itself does not contradict
either logical or physical laws will invariably depend for its character
as true or false upon the character of the reporters, who are influenced
by the divergency of interests and all kinds of animosities and
antipathies between the various nations. We must distinguish
4
India by Al-Biruni
different classes of reporters.
One of them tells a lie, as intending to further an interest of his
own, either by lauding his family or nation, because he is one of them,
or by attacking the family or nation, on the opposite side, thinking that
thereby he can gain his ends. In both cases he acts from motives of
objectionable cupidity and animosity.
Another one tells a lie regarding a class of people whom he likes,
as being under obligations to them, or whom he hates because
something disagreeable has happened between them. Such a
reporter is near akin to the first-mentioned one, as he too acts from
motives of personal predilection and enmity.
Another tells a lie because he is of such a base nature as to aim
thereby at some profit, or because he is such a coward as to be afraid
of telling the truth.
Another tells a lie because it is his nature to lie, and he cannot do
otherwise, which proceeds from the essential meanness of his
character and the depravity of his innermost being.
Lastly, a man may tell a lie from ignorance, blindly following
others who told him. If, now, reporters of this kind become so
numerous as to represent a certain body of tradition, or if in the
course of time they even come to form a consecutive series of com¬
munities or nations, both the first reporter and his followers form the
connecting links between the hearer and the inventor of the lie; and if
the connecting links are eliminated, there remains the originator of
the story, one of the various kinds of liars we have enumerated, as
the only person with whom we have to deal.
That man only is praiseworthy who shrinks from a lie and always
adheres to the truth, enjoying credit even among liars, not to mention
others.
...When I once called upon the master ’Abu-Sahl ‘Abd-Almun‘im
Ibn ‘ Ali Ibn Nuh At-tiflisi, may God strengthen him! I found that he
blamed the tendency of the author of a
book on the Mu‘tazila sect to misrepre¬
sent their theory. For, according to
them, God is omniscient of himself, and
this dogma that author had expressed in
such a way as to say that God has no
knowledge (like the knowledge of man),
thereby misleading uneducated people
to imagine that, according to the Mu’tazilites, God is ignorant Praise
1. On the defects of Muslim
works on religious and.
philosophical doctrines
2. Exemplified with regard
to the Hindus. Criticism
of the book of Eranshahri
3. Beruni asked to write a
book on the subject
4. He states his method
Preface
5
be to God, who is far above all such and similar unworthy
descriptions! Thereupon I pointed out to the master that precisely
the same method is much in fashion among those who undertake the
task of giving an account of religious and philosophical systems from
which they slightly differ or to which they are entirely opposed...
In order to illustrate the point of our conversation, one of those
present referred to the religions and doctrines of the Hindus by way
of an example. Thereupon I drew their attention to the fact that
everything which exists on this subject in our literature is second¬
hand information which one has copied from the other, a farrago of
materials never sifted by the sieve of critical examination. Of all
authors of this class, I know only one who had proposed to himself to
give a simple and exact report of the subiect sine ira ac studio, viz.
’Abu-al‘ abbas Aleranshahri. 3 He himself did not believe in any of
the then existing religions, but was the sole believer in a religion
invented by himself, which he tried to propagate. He has given a very
good account of the doctrines of the Jews and Christians as well as of
the contents of both the Thora and the Gospel. Besides, he furnishes
us with a most excellent account of the Manichaeans, and of
obsolete religions of bygone times which are mentioned in their
books. But when he came in his book to speak of the Hindus and the
Buddhists, his arrow missed the mark, and in the latter part he went
astray through hitting upon the book of Zarkan , 4 the contents of
which he incorporated in his own work. That, however, which he has
not taken from Zarkan, he himself has heard from common people
among Hindus and Buddhists.
At a subsequent period the master ’ Abu-Sahl studied the books in
question a second time, and when he found the matter exactly as I
have here described it, he incited me to write down what I know
about the Hindus as a help to those who want to discuss religious
questions with them, and as a repertory of information to those who
want to associate with them. In order to please him I have done so,
and written this book on the doctrines of the Hindus, never making
any unfounded imputations against those, our religious antagonists,
and at the same time not considering it inconsistent with my duties
as a Muslim to quote their own words at full length when I thought they
would contribute to elucidate a subject If the contents of these
quotations happen to be utterly heathenish, and the followers of the truth
i.e. the Muslims, find them objectionable, we can only say that such
is the belief of the Hindus, and that they themselves are best
6
India by Al-Biruni
qualified to defend it.
This book is not a polemical one. I shall not produce the arguments
of our antagonists in order to refute such of them as I believe to be in
the wrong. My book is nothing but a simple historic record of facts. I shall
place before the reader the theories of the Hindus exactly as they
are, and I shall mention in connection with them similar theories of
the Greeks in order to show the relationship existing between them.
For the Greek philosophers, although aiming at truth in the abstract,
never in all questions of popular bearing rise much above the
customary exoteric expressions and tenets both of their religion and
law. Besides Greek ideas we shall only now and then mention those
of the Sufis or of some one or other Christian sect, because in their
notions regarding the transmigration of souls and the pantheistic
doctrine of the unity of God with creation there is much in common
between these systems.
I have already translated two books into Arabic, one about the
origines and a description of all created beings, called Samkhya, 5 and
another about the emancipation of the soul from the fetters of the
body, called Patanjali (Patanjalal ). These two books contain most of
the elements of the belief of the Hindus, but not all the single rules
derived therefrom. I hope that the present book will enable the
reader to dispense with these two earlier ones, and with other books
of the same kind; that it will give a sufficient representation of the
subject, and will enable him to make himself thoroughly acquainted
with it — God willing!
| Al-Biruni’s synopsis of the single chapters of the book, vide pp.
XXIII-XXXIII above, are then given, pp. 9-16.]
CHAPTER I
On The Hindus In General, As An Introduction
To Our Account Of Them
Before entering on our exposition, we must form an adequate idea of
that which renders it so particularly difficult to penetrate to the
essential nature of any Indian subject.
The knowledge of these difficulties will
either facilitate the progress of our
work, or serve as an apology for any
shortcomings of ours. For the reader
must always bear in mind that the
Description of the barriers
which separate the Hindus
from the Muslims and make
it so particularly difficult
for a Muslim to study any
Indian subject
Hindus entirely differ from us in every respect, many a subject
appearing intricate and obscure which would be perfectly clear if
there were more connection between us. The barriers which separate
Muslims and Hindus rest on different causes.
And here we first mention the language, although the
difference of language also exists between other nations. If you want
to conquer this difficulty (i.e. to learn
First reason: Difference of Sanskrit), you will not find it easy,
the language and its
particular nature
because the language is of an enormous
range, both in words and inflections,
something like the Arabic, calling one and the same thing by various
8
India by Al-Biruni
names, both original and derived, and using one and the same word
for a variety of subjects, which, in order to be properly understood,
must be distinguished from each other by various qualifying epithets.
For nobody could distinguish between the various meanings of a
word unless he understands the context in which it occurs and its
relation both to the following and the preceding parts of the sentence.
The Hindus, like other people, boast of this enormous range of their
language, whilst in reality it is defect.
Further, the language is divided into a neglected vernacular one,
only in use among the common people, and a classical one only in
use among the upper and educated classes, which is much cultivated,
and subject to the rules of grammatical inflection and etymology,
and to all the niceties of grammar and rhetoric.
Besides, some of the sounds (consonants) of which the language is
composed are neither identical with the sounds of Arabic and
Persian, nor resemble them in any way ... It is very difficult,
therefore, to express an Indian word in our writing, for in order to fix
the pronunciation we must change our orthographical points and
signs, and must pronounce the case endings either according to the
common Arabic rules or according to special rules adapted for the
purpose.
Add to this that the Indian scribes are careless, and do not take
pains to produce correct and well-collated copies. In consequence,
the highest results of the author’s mental development are lost bv their
negligence, and his book becomes already in the first or second copy
so full of faults, that the text appears as something entirely new,
which neither a scholar nor one familiar with the subject, whether
Hindu or Muslim, could any longer understand. It will sufficiently
illustrate the matter if we tell the reader that we have sometimes
written down a word from the mouth of Hindus, taking the greatest
pains to fix its pronunciation, and that afterwards when we repeated
it to them, they had great difficulty in recognising it.
... Besides, the scientific books of the Hindus are composed in
various favourite metres, by which they intend, considering that the
books soon become corrupted by additions and omissions, to
preserve them exactly as they are, in order to facilitate their being
learned by heart, because they consider as canonical only that which
is known by heart, not that which exists in writing. Now it is well
known that in all metrical compositions there is much misty and
constrained phraseology merely intended to fill up the metre and
On the Hindus in General
9
serving as a kind of patchwork, and this necessitates a certain
amount of verbosity. This is also one of the reasons why a word has
sometimes one meaning and sometimes another.
From all this it will appear that the metrical form of literary
composition is one of the causes which make the study of Sanskrit
literature so particularly difficult.
Secondly, they totally differ from us in religion, as we believe in
nothing in which they believe, and vice versa. On the whole, there
is very little disputing about theological
topics among themselves; at the utmost,
they fight with words, but they will
Second reason: Their
religious prejudices
never stake their soul or body or their property on religious
controversy. On the contrary, all their fanaticism is directed against
those who do not belong to them—against all foreigners. They call
them mleccha, i.e. impure, and forbid having any connection with
them, be it by intermarriage or any other kind of relationship, or by
sitting, eating, and drinking with them, because thereby, they think,
they would be polluted. They consider as impure anything which
touches the fire and the water of a foreigner; and no household can
exist without these two elements. Besides, they never desire that a
thing which once has been polluted should be 'purified and thus
recovered; as, under ordinary circumstances, if anybody or anything
has become unclean, he or it would strive to regain the state of
purity. They are not allowed to receive anybody who does noi
belong to them, even if he wished it, or was inclined to their religion.
This too, renders any connection with them quite impossible, and
constitutes the widest gulf between us and them.
In the third place, in all manners and usages they differ from
us to such a degree as to frighten their children with us, with
our dress, and our ways and customs,
and as to declare us to be devil’s breed,
and our doings as the very opposite of
all that is good and proper. By the by.
Third reason: The radical
difference of their manners
and customs
we must confess, in order to be just, that a similar deprecation of
foreigners not only prevails among us and the Hindus, but is
common to all nations towards each other ...
[Fourthly,] ... the repugnance of the Hindus against foreigners
increased more and more when the Muslims began to make their
inroads into their country; for Muhammad Ibn Elkasim Ibn
Elmunabbih entered Sindh from the side of Sijistan (Sakastene) and
10
India by Al-Birum
conquered the cities of Bahmanwa and Mulasthana, the former of
which he called Al-mansura, the latter Al-ma’mura. He entered India
proper, and penetrated even as far as Kanauj, marched through the
country of Gandhara, and on his way back, thorugh the confines of
Kashmir, sometimes fighting sword in hand, sometimes gaining his
ends by treaties, leaving to the people their ancient belief, except in
the case of those who wanted to become Muslims. All these events
planted a deeply rooted hatred in their hearts.
Now in the following times no Muslim conqueror passed beyond
the frontier of Kabul and the river Sindh until the days of the Turks,
when they seized the power in Ghazna
under the Samani dynasty, and the
supreme power fell to the lot of Nasir-
Muhammadan conquest of
the country by Mahmud
addaula Sabuktagin. This prince chose the holy war as his calling,
and therefore called himself Al-ghazi (i.e. warring on the road of Allah),
In the interest of his successors he constructed, in order to weaken
the Indian frontier, those roads on which afterwards his son
Yaminaddaula Mahmud marched into India during a period of thirty
years and more. God be merciful to both father and son! Mahmud
utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed there
wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust
scattered in all directions, and like a tale of old in the mouth of the
people. Their scattered remains cherish, of course, the most
inveterate aversion towards all Muslims. This is the reason, too, why
Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country
conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot yet
reach, to Kashmir, Benares, and other places. And there the
antagonism between them and all foreigners receives more and more
nourishment both frotn political and religious sources.
In the fifth place, there are other causes, the mentioning of which
sounds like a satire-peculiarities of their national character, deeply
rooted in them, but manifest to every¬
body. We can only say, folly is an illness
•for which there is no medicine, and the
Hindus believe that there is no country
but theirs, no nation like theirs, no
Fifth reason: The self-
conceit of the Hindus, and
their deprecation of any¬
thing foreign
kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs. They are
haughty, foolishly vain, self-conceited, and stolid. They are by
nature niggardly in communicating that which they know, and they
take the greatest possible care to withhold it from men of another
On the Hindtis in General
11
caste among their own people, still much more, of course, from any-
foreigner. According to their belief, there is no other country on
earth but theirs, no other race of man but theirs, and no created
beings besides them have any knowledge or science whatsoever.
Their haughtiness is such that, if you tell them of any science or
scholar in Khurasan and Persis, they will think you to be both an
ignoramus and a liar. If they travelled and mixed with other nations,
they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors were not as
narrow-minded as the present generation is ...
Now such is the state of things in India. 1 have found it very hard
to work my way into the subject, although I have a great liking for it,
_ , ,.. in which respect I stand quite alone in
of the author my time, and although I do not spare
either trouble or money in collecting
Sanskrit books from places where I supposed they were likely to be
found, and in procuring for myself, even from very remote places,
Hindu scholars who understand them and are able to teach me.
What scholar, however, has the same favourable opportunities of
studying this subject as I have? That would be only the case with one
to whom the grace of God accords, what it did not accord to me, a
perfectly free disposal of his own doings and goings; for it has never
fallen to my lot in my own doings and goings to be perfectly
independent, nor to be invested with sufficient power to dispose and
to order as I thought best. However, I thank God for that which He
has bestowed upon me, and which must be considered as sufficient
for the purpose.
The heathen Greeks, before the rise of Christianity, held much the
same opinions as the Hindus; their educated classes thought much
the same as those of the Hindus; their common people held the same
idolatorous views as those of the Hindus ... The Greeks, however,
had philosophers who, living in their country, discovered and
worked out for them the elements of science not of popular
superstition ... Think of Socrates when he opposed the crowd of his
nation ... and ... died faithful to the truth.
The Hindus had no men of this stamp both capable and willing to
bring sciences to a classical perfection. Therefore, you mostly find
that even the so-called scientific theorems of the Hindus are in a
state of utter confusion, devoid of any logical order, and in the last
instance always mixed up with the silly notions of the crowd ... I
can only compare their mathematical and astronomical literature, as
12
India by Al-Biruni
far as I know it, to a mixture of pearl shells and sour dates, or of
pearls and dung or of costiy crystals and common pebbles. Both
kinds of things are equal in their eyes, since they cannot raise
themselves to the methods of a strictly scientific deduction.
In most parts of my work I simply relate without criticising, unless
there be a special reason for doing so. I mention the necessary
Sanskrit names and technical terms once where the context of our
explanation demands it. If the word is an original one, the meaning of
which can be rendered in Arabic, I only use the corresponding
Arabic word; if, however, the Sanskrit word be more practical, we
keep this, trying to transliterate it as accurately as possible. If the
word is a secondary or derived one, but in general use, we also keep it,
though there be a corresponding term in Arabic, but before using it
we explain its signification. In this way we have tried to facilitate the
understanding of the terminology.
- Lastly, we observe that we cannot always in our discussions
strictly adhere to the geometrical method, only referring to that
which precedes and never to that which follows, as we must
sometimes introduce in a chapter an unknown factor, the
explanation of which cah only be given in a later part of the book,
God helping us ?
CHAPTER II
On The Belief Of The Hindus In God
The nature of God
The belief of educated and uneducated people differs ip every
nation; for the former strive to conceive abstract ideas and to define
general principles, whilst the latter do
not pass beyond the apprehension of the
senses, and are content with derived
rules, without caring for details, especially in questions of religion
and law, regarding which opinions and interests are divided. The
Hindus believe with regard to God that he is eternal, without
beginning and end, acting by free will, almighty, all-wise, living,
giving life, ruling, preserving; one who in his sovereignty is unique,
beyond all likeness and unlikeness, and that he does not resemble
anything nor does anything resemble him. In order to illustrate this
we shall produce some extracts from their literature, lest the reader
should think that our account is nothing but hearsay.
[Extracts from the Patanjali , ‘the book Gita 1 , a part of the book
Bharata, from the conversation between Vasudeva and Aijuna’, and
the book Samkhya are quoted. Pp. 27-30.
This is the procedure followed by Al-Biruni in the subsequent
chapters too. He first presents a brief summary of the ideas of the
Indian philosophers and scientists on a particular topic and then
14
India by Al-Biruni
quotes relevant extracts from Indian scientific treatises and/or
religious books. Sometimes he draws attention to the similar ideas of
Greek thinkers and the Sufis, and quotes from the concerned
sources.]
... The Hindus differ among themselves as to the definition of
what is action. Some who' make God the source of action, consider
him as the universal cause; for as the
On the notion* of the existence of the agents derives from him,
he is the cause of their action, and in
consequence it is his own action coming into existence through their
intermediation. Others do not derive action from God, but from
other sources, considering them as the particular causes which in the
last instance—according to external observation—produce the
action in question.
... This is what educated people believe about God, They call
him isvara, i.e. self-sufficing, beneficent, who gives without receiving.
They consider the unity of God as
Philosophical and vulgar absolute, but that everything beside
God God which may appear as a unity is
really a plurality of things. The existence
of God they consider as a real existence, because everything that
exists, exists through him. It is not impossible to think that the
existing beings are not and that he is, but it is impossible to think that
he is not and that they are.
If we now pass from the ideas of the educated people among the
Hindus to those of the common people, we must first state that they
present a great variety. Some of them are simply abominable, but
similar errors also occur in other religions. Nay, even in Islam we
must decidedly disapprove, e.g. of the anthropomorphic doctrines,
the teachings of the Jabriyya 8 sect, the prohibition of the discussion
of religious topics, and such like. Every religious sentence destined
for the people at large must be carefully worded, as the following
example shows. Some Hindu scholar calls God a point, meaning to
say thereby that the qualities of bodies do not apply to him. Now
some uneducated man reads this and imagines, God is as small as
a point, and he does not find out what the word point in this sentence
was really intended* to express. He will not even stop with this
offensive comparison but will describe God as much larger, and will
say, “He is twelve fingers long and ten fingers broad.” Praise be to
God, who is far above measure and number! Further, if an
Belief of the Hindus in God
15
uneducated man hears what we have mentioned, that God com¬
prehends the universe so that nothing is concealed from him, he will
at once imagine that this comprehending is effected by means of
eyesight; that eyesight is only possible by means of an eye, and that
two eyes are better than only one; and in consequence he will
describe God as having a thousand eyes, meaning to describe his
omniscience.
Similar hideous fictions are sometimes met with among the
Hindus, especially among those castes who are not allowed to
occupy themselves with science, of whom we shall speak hereafter.
CHAPTER III
On The Hindu Belief As To Created Things,
Both “Intelligibilia” And “Sensibilia”
On this subject the ancient Greeks held nearly the same view as the
Hindus, at all events in those times before philosophy rose high
among them under the care of the seven
Notions of the Greeks and so-called pillars of wisdom, viz. Solon of
‘the ft>s( c«i!° S ° PherS 3510 Athens, Bias of Priene, Periander of
Corinth, Thales of Miletus, Chilon of
Lacedaemon, Pittacus of Lesbos, and Cleobulus of Lindos, and their
successors. Some of them thought that all things are one, and this one
thing is according to some to lanlhanein, according to others he
dunatnis; that e g. man has only this prerogative before a stone and the
inanimate world, that he is by one degree nearer than they to the First
Cause. But this he would not be anything better than they.
Others think that only the First Cause has real existence, because it
alone is self-sufficing, whilst everything else absolutely requires it;
that a thing which for its existence stands in need of something else
has only a dream-life, no real life, and that reality is only that one and
first being (the First Cause).
This is also the theory of the Sufis, i.e. the sages, for suf means in
Greek wisdom (sophia). Therefore, a philosopher' is. called pailasopa
On the Hindu Belief as to Created Things
17
( philosophos) , i.e. loving wisdom. When in Islam persons adopted
something like the doctrines of these
Origin of the word Sufi philosophers , they also adopted their
name; but some people did not
understand the meaning of the word, and erroneously combined it
with the Arabic word suffa, as if the Sufi (philosophoi ) were identical
with the so-called A hl-assuffa among the companions of Muhammad.
In later times the word was corrupted by misspelling, so that finally
it was taken for a derivation from suf i.e. the wool of goats. Abu-alfath
Albusti 9 made a laudable effort to avoid this mistake when he said,
“From olden times people have differed as to the meaning of the
word sufi, and have thought it a derivative from suf i.e. wool. I, for
my part, understand by the word a youth who is safi, i.e. pure. This
safe has become sufi, and in this form the name of a class of thinkers,
the sufi
Further, the same Greeks think that the existing world is only ont
thing; that the First Cause appears in it under various shapes; that
the power of the First Cause is inherent in the parts of the world
under different circumstances, which cause a certain, difference of
the things of the world notwithstanding their original unity.
Others thought that he who turns with his whole being towards the
First Cause , striving to become as much as possible similar to it, will
become united with it after having passed the intermediate stages,
and stripped of all appendages and impediments. Similar views are
also held by the Sufi, because of the similarity of the dogma.
As to the souls and spirits, the Greeks think that they exist by
themselves before they enter bodies; that they exist in certain
nombers and groups, which stand in various relations to each other,
knowing each other and not knowing; that they, whilst staying in
bodies, earn by the actions of their free-will that lot which awaits
them after their separation from the bodies, i.e. the faculty of ruling
the world in various ways. Therefore, they called them gods, built
temples in their names and offered them sacrifices ...
... The Greeks call in general god everything that is glorious and
noble, and the like usage exists among many nations. They go even so
far as to call gods the mountains, the seas, &c. Secondly, they apply
the term god in a special sense to the First Cause, to the angels, and to
their souls. According to a third usage, Plato calls gods the Sekinat
(= rnousai). But on this subject the terms of the interpreters are riot
perfectly clear; in consequence of which we only know the name, but
18
India by Al-Biruni
not what it means. .
There are, however, certain expressions which are offensive
according to the notions of one religion, whilst they are admissible
according to those of another, which
may pass in one language, whilst they
are rejected by another. To this class
belongs the word apotheosis, which has a
Difference of denominating
God in Arabic, Hebrew, and
Syriac
bad sound in the ears'of Muslims. If we consider the use of the word
god in the Arabic language, we find that all the names by which the
'pure truth, i.e. Allah, has been named, may somehow or other be
applied to other beings besides him, except the word Allah, which
only applies to God, and which has been called his greatest name.
If we consider the use of the word in Hebrew and Syriac, in which
two languages the sacred books before the Koran were revealed, we
find that in the Thora and the following books of Prophets which are
reckoned with the Thora as one whole, that word Rabb corresponds
to the word Allah in Arabic, insofar as it cannot in a genitive
construction be applied to anybody besides God, and you cannot say
the rabb of the house, the rabb of the property (which in Arabic is
allowed).
.... Passing from the word God to those of father and son, we must
state that Islam is not liberal in the use of them; for in Arabic the
word son means nearly always as much as a child in the natural order
of things, and from the ideas involved in parentage and birth can
never be derived any expression meaning the Eternal Lord of
creation. Other languages, however, take much more liberty in this
respect; so that if people address a man by father, it is nearly the same
as if they addressed him by sir. As is well known, phrases of this kind
have become so prevalent among the Christians, that anybody who
does not always use the words father and son in addressing people
would scarcely be considered as one of them. By the son they
understand most especially Jesus, but apply it also to others besides
him.
(Al-Biruni also refers to the anthropomorphic ideas of the
Manichaeans, and then comes to the popular religious ideas of
Hindus. P. 39-1
. The educated among the Hindus abhor anthropomorphisms of
this kind, but the crowd and the members of the single sects use them
most extensively. They go even beyond all we have hitherto
19
On the Hindu Belief as to Created Things
mentioned, so as to speak of wife, son,
Notions of the educated
Hindus. All created beings
are a unity
educated daughter, of the rendering pregnant and
other physical processes, all in connec¬
tion with God. They are even so little
pious, that, when speaking of these things, they do not even abstain
from silly and unbecoming language. However, nobody minds these
classes and their theories, though they be numerous. The main and
most essential point of the Hindu world of thought is that which the
Brahmans think and believe, for they are specially trained for
preserving and maintaining their religion. And this it is which we
shall explain, viz. the belief of the Brahmans ...
I. Those Hindus who prefer clear and accurate definitions to
vague allusions call the soul purusha, which means man, because it is
® . •• • 1_a Ai/irtinn U/nrlH
the living element in the existing world.
Life is the only attribute which they give
to it. They describe it as alternately
Purusha
knowing and not knowing, as not knowing en praxei (actually), and as
knowing en dunarnei (potentially), gaining knowledge by acquisition.
The not-knowing of purusha is the cause why action comes into
existence, and its knowing is the cause why action ceases.
II. Next follows the general matter, i.e. the abstract hule, which
they call avyakta, i.e. a shapeless thing. It is dead, but has three
powers potentially, not actually, which
are called sattva, rajas, and tamas. I have
heard that Buddhodana 10 (sic), in
Avyakta
speaking to his adherents the Shamanians, calls them buddha,
dharma, sangha, as it were intelligence, religion, and ignorance (sic). The
first power is rest and goodness, and hence come existing and
growing. The second is exertion and fatigue, and hence come
firmness and duration. The third is languor and irresolution, and
hence come ruin and perishing. Therefore the first power is
attributed to the angels, the second to men, the third to the animals.
The ideas before, afterwards, and thereupon may be predicated of all
these things only in the sense of a certain sequence and on account of
the inadequacy of language, but not so as to indicate any ordinary
notions of time. .
III. Matter proceeding from dunamis into praxis under the various
shapes and with the three primary forces is called vyakta, i.e. having
shape, whilst the union of the abstract hule and of the shaped matter is
called prakriti. This term, however, is of no use to us; we do not want
20
India by Al-Biruni
to speak of an abstract matter, the term
Vyakta and Prakriti matter alone being sufficient for US,
since the one does not exist without the
other.
IV. Next comes nature, which they call ahankara. The word is
derived from the ideas of overpowering, developing, and self-assertion .
because matter when assuming shape
Ahankara causes things to develop into new
forms, and this growing consists in the
changing of a foreign element and assimilating it to the growing one.
Hence it is as if nature were trying to overpower those other or foreign
elements in this process of changing them, and were subduing that
which is changed.
V-IX. As a matter of course, each compound presupposes
simple elements from which it is compounded and into which it is
resolved again. The universal existences
Mahabhuta in the world are the five elements, i.e.
according to the Hindus: heaven, wind,
fire, water, and earth. They are called mahabhuta, i.e. having great
natures. They do not think, as other people do, that the fire is a hot dry
body near the bottom of the ether. They understand by fire the
common fire on earth which comes from an inflammation of smoke.
X-XIV. As these elements are compound, they presuppose
simple ones which are called panca mataras, i.e. five mothers. They
describe them as the functions of the
Panca mataras senses. The simple element of heaven is
sabda i.e. that which is heard; that of the
wind is sparsa, i.e. that which is touched; that of the fire is rupa, i.e. that
which is seen; that of the water is rasa, i.e. that which is tasted; and that
of the earth \s gandha, i.e. that which is smelled. With each of these
mahabhuta elements (earth, water, etc.) they connect, firstly, one of
the panca mataras elements, as we have here shown; and, secondly, all
those which have been attributed to the mahabhuta elements pre¬
viously mentioned. So the earth has all five qualities; the water has
them minus the smelling (= four qualities); the fire has them minus the
smelling and tasting (i.e. three qualities); the wind has them minus
smelling, tasting, and seeing (i.e. two qualities); heaven has them
minus smelling, tasting, seeing, and touching (i.e. one quality).
The result of all these elements which we have enumerated, i.e.
a compound of all of them, is the animal. The Hindus consider the
On the Hindu Belief as to Created Things
21
plants as a species of animal as Plato also thinks that the plants have
a sense, because they have the faculty of distinguishing between that
which suits them and that which is detrimental to them. The animal
is an animal as distinguished from a stone by virtue of its possession
of the senses.
XV-XIX. The senses are five, called indriyam, the hearing by the
ear, the seeing by the eye, the smelling
Indriyani by the nose, the tasting by the tongue,
and the touching by the skin.
XX. Next follows the will, which directs the senses the exercise
of their various functions, and which
Manas dwells in the heart. Therefore they
call it manas.
XXI-XXV. The animal nature is rendered perfect by five necessary
functions, which they call karmendriyani,
Karmendriyani i.e. the senses of action. The former
senses bring about learning and
knowledge, the latter action and work. We shall call them the
necessaria. They are:
1) To produce a sound for any of the different wants and wishes a
man may have: 2) To throw the hands with force, in order to draw
towards or to put away; 3) To walk with the feet, in order to seek
something or to fly from it; 4-5) The ejection of the superfluous
elements of nourishment by means of the two openings created for
the purpose.
Recapitulaion of the
twenty-five elements
The whole of these elments are twenty-
five, viz.:—
1. The general soul.
2. The abstract hule.
3. The shaped matter.
4. The overpowering nature.
5-9. The simple mothers.
10-14. The primary elements.
15-19. The senses of apperception.
20. The directing will.
21-25. The instrumental necessaria.
The totality of these elements is called tattva , and all knowledge is
restricted to them ...
CHAPTER IV
From What Cause Action Originates, And
How The Soul Is Connected With Matter
Voluntary actions cannot originate in the body of any animal, unless
the body be living and exist in close contact with that which is living
of itself, i.e. the soul. The Hindus
The soul longing to be united maintain that the soul is m praxi’u not m
with the body, is so united . . _ .
by intermediary spirits dutuitnei, ignorant oi its own essential
' nature and of its material substratum,
longing to apprehend what it does not know, and believing that it
cannot exist unless by matter. As, therefore, it longs for the good
which is duration, and wishes to learn that which is hidden from it, it
starts off in order to be united with matter. However, substances
which are dense and such as are tenuous, if they have these qualities
in the very highest degree, can mix together only by means of
intermediary elements which stand in a certain relation to each of the
' two. Thus the air is the medium between fire and water, which are
opposed to each other by these two qualities, for the air is related to
the fire in tenuity and to the water in density, and by either of these
qualities it renders the one capable of mixing with the other. Now,
there is no greater antithesis than that between body and not body.
Therefore the soul, being what it is, cannot obtain the fulfilment of its
From What Cause Action Originates
23
wish but by similar media, spirits which derive their existence from
the matres simplices in the worlds called Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, and
Svarloka. The Hindus call them tenuous bodies over which the soul
rises like the sun over the earth, in order to distinguish them from the
dense bodies which derive their existence from the common five
elements. The soul, in consequence of this union with the media,
uses them as its vehicles. Thus the image of the sun, though he is
only one, is represented in many mirrors which are placed opposite
to him, as also in the water of vessels placed opposite. The sun is
seen alike in each mirror and each vessel, and in each of them his
warming and light-giving effect is perceived ...
Such, then, is the supreme highest cause of the soul’s starting off
into action.
On the other hand, the lowest cause, as proceeding from matter, is
this: that matter for its part seeks for perfection, and always prefers
that which is better to that which is less
On matter seeking the good, viz. proceeding from dunamis into
union with the soul praxis. In consequence of the vain-glory
and ambition which are its pith and
marrow, matter produces and shows all kinds of possibilities which it
contains to its pupil, the soul, and carries it round through alj classes
of vegetable and animal beings.
... The book of Samkhya derives action from matter, for the
difference of forms under which matter appears depends upon the
three primary forces, and upon whether
On matter as the cause of one or two of them gain the supremacy
action according to the the remainder. These forces are
philosophers the angelic, the human, and the animal.
The three forces belong only to matter,
not to the soul. The task of the soul is to learn the actions of matter
like a spectator, resembling a traveller who sits down in a village to
repose. Each villager is busy with his own particular work, but he
looks at them and considers their doings, disliking some, liking
others, and taking an example from them. In this way he is busy
without having himself any share in the business going on, and
without being the cause which has brought it about ...
People say the soul resembles the rain-water which comes down
from heaven, always the same and of the same nature. However, if it
is gathered in vessels placed for the purpose, vessels of different
materials, of gold, silver, glass, earthenware, clay, or bitter-salt
24
India by Al-Biruni
earth, it begins to differ in appearance, taste, and smell. Thus the
soul does not influence matter in any way, except in this, that it gives
matter life by being in close contact with it When, then, matter
begins to act, the result is different in conformity with the one of the
three primary forces which happens to preponderate, and conformably
to the mutual assistance which the other two latent forces afford to
the former. This assistance may be given in various ways, as the
fresh oil, the dry wick, and the smoking fire help each other to
produce light. The soul is in matter like the rider on a carriage, being
attended by the senses, who drive the carriage according to the
rider’s intentions. But the soul for its part is guided by the
intelligence with which it is inspired by God. This intelligence they
describe as that by which the reality of things is apprehended, which
shows the way to the, knowledge of God, and to such actions as are
liked and praised by everybody.
CHAPTER V
On The State Of The Souls, And Their
Migrations Through The World In The
Metempsychosis
As the word of confession, “There is no god but God, Muhammad is his
prophet,” is the shibboleth of Islam, the Trinity that of Christianity,
and the institute of the Sabbath that of Judaism, so metempsychosis
is the shibboleth of the Hindu religion. Therefore, he who does not
believe in it does not belong to them, and is not reckoned as one of
them. For they hold the. following belief:
The soul, as long as it has not risen to the highest absolute
intelligence, does not comprehend the totality of objects at once, or,
as it were, in no time. Therefore it must
Beginning, development, explore all particular beings and
and ultimate result of . . „ Al ....... c
metempsychosis examine all the possibilities or
existence; and as their number is,though
not unlimited, still an enormous one, the soul wants an enormous
space of time in order to finish the contemplation of such a multi¬
plicity of objects. The soul acquires knowledge only by the con¬
templation of the individuals and the species, and of their peculiar
actions and conditions. It gains experience from each object, and
gathers thereby new knowledge.
26
India by Al-Biruni
However, these actions differ in the same measure as the thret
primary forces differ. Besides, the world is not left without some
direction, being led, as it were, by a bridle and directed towards a
definite scope. Therefore the imperishable souls wander about in
perishable bodies conformably to the difference of their actions, as
they prove to be good or bad. The object of the migration through the
world of reward (i.e. heaven) is to direct the attention of the soul to
the good, that it should become desirous of acquiring as much of it as
possible. The object of its migration through the world of punishment
{i.e. hell) is to direct its attention to the bad and abominable, that it
should strive to keep as far as possible aloof from it.
The migration begins from low stages, and rises to higher and
better ones, not the contrary, as we state on purpose, since the one is
a priori as possible as the other. The difference of these lower and
higher stages depends upon the difference of the actions, and this
again results from the quantitative and qualitative diversity of the
temperaments and the various degrees of combinations in which
they appear.
This migration lasts until the object aimed at has been completely
attained both for the soul and matter; the lower aim being the
disappearance of the shape of matter, except any such new
formation as may appear desirable; the higher aim being the ceasing
of the desire of the soul to learn what it did not know before the
insight of the soul into the nobility of its own being and its
independent existence, its knowing that it can dispense with matter
after it has become acquainted with the mean nature of matter and
the instability of its shapes, with all that which matter offers to the
senses, and with the truth of the tales about its delights. Then the
soul turns away from matter, the connecting links are broken, the
union is dissolved. Separation and dissolution take place, and the
soul returns to its home, carrying with itself as much of the bliss of
knowledge as sesame develops grains and blossoms, afterwards
never separating from its oil. The intelligent being, intelligence and
its object, are united and become one.
It is now our duty to produce from their literature some clear
testimonies as to this subject and cognate theories of other nations.
[There follow some quotations from the Gita and other Hindu
scriptures. Attention is also drawn to the similar views of the
Greeks, and Socrates’ work Phaedo is quoted. Pp. 52-57.]
The same doctrine is professed by those Sufis who teach that
27
The State of the Souls
this world is a sleeping soul and yonder world a soul awake, and who
at the same time admit that God is immanent in certain places—e.g.
in heaven—in the seat and the throne ot
Sun doctrine God (mentioned in the Koran). But
then there are others who admit that
God is immanent in the whole world, in animals, trees, and the
inanimate world, which they call his universal appearance. To those
who hold this view, the entering of the souls into various bemgs in
the course of metempsychosis is of no consequence.
CHAPTER VI
On The Different Worlds, And On The Places
Of Retribution In Paradise And Hell
The Hindus call the world loka. Its primary division consists of the
upper, the low, and the middle. The upper one is called svarloka i.e.
paradise; the low, nagaloka i.e. the world
The 111166 of the serpents, which is hell; besides
they call it naraloka, and sometimes also
patala, i.e. the lowest world. The middle world, that one in which we
live, is called madhyaloka and manushyaloka, i.e. the world of men. In
the latter, man has to earn, in the upper to receive his reward; in the
low, to receive punishment. A man who deserves to come to svarloka
or nagaloka receives there the full recompense of his deeds during a
certain length of time corresponding to the duration of his deeds, but
in either of them there is only the soul, the soul free from the body.
For those who do not deserve to rise to heaven and to sink as low
as hell there is another world called tiryagloka, the irrational world of
plants and animals, through the individuals of which the soul has to
wander in the metempsychosis until it reaches the human being,
rising by degrees from the lowest kinds of the vegetable world to
highest classes of the sensitive world. The stay of the soul in this
world has one of the following causes: either the award which is due
On the Different Worlds
29
to the soul is not sufficient to raise it into heaven or to sink it into
hell, or the soul is in its wanderings on the way back from hell; for
they believe that a soul returning to the human world from heaven at
once adopts a human body, whilst that one which returns there from
hell has first to wander about in plants and animals before it reaches
the degree of living in a human body.
The Hindus speak in their traditions of a large number of hells, of
% their qualities and their names, and for each kind of sin they have a
Quotation from the special hell. The number of hells is
vishnu-Purana 88,000 according to the Vishnu-Puranal 1
[Al-Biruni quotes from this book about the different kinds of sins
committed by the people and the hells prescribed for them. Among
such persons is ‘he who bears false witness... sheds innocent blood
.. kills cows (and) ... a Brahman ... commits adultery with his
sister or the wife of his son ... contemns the Veda and Puranas ...
does not honour the rights of parents’... makes swords and knives,
rears cocks, cats and pigs, cuts down trees and—worst of all-
neglects customs and violates laws. Al-Biruni adds that he was
listing these ‘only in order to show what kinds of deeds the Hindus
abhor as sins.’ Pp. 60-61.)
Some Hindus believe that the middle world, that one for earning,
is the human world, and that a man wanders about in it, because he
has received a reward which does not
According to some Hindus, lead him into heaven, but at the same
a se «»•*»» ml tm m.**
of hell heaven as a higher stage, where a man
lives in a state of Miss which must be of
a certain duration on account of the good deeds he has done. On the
contrary, they consider the wandering about in plants and animals as
a lower stage, where a man dwells for punishment for a certain
length of time, which is thought to correspond to the wretched deeds
he has done. People who hold this view do not know of another hell,
but this kind of degradation below the degree of living as a human
being.
All these degrees of retribution are necessary for this reason, that
the seeking for salvation from the fetters of matter frequently does
not proceed on the straight line which
Moral principles of leads to absolute knowledge, but on
metempsychosis lines chosen by guessing or chosen
because others had chosen them. Not
30
India by Al-Biruni
one action of man shall be lost, not even the last of all; it shall be
brought to his account after his good and bad actions have been
balanced against each other. The retribution, however, is not
according to the deed, but according to the intention which a man
had in doing it; and a man will receive his reward either in the form in
which he lives on earth, or in that form into which his soul will
migrate, or in a kind of intermediary state after he has left his shape
and has not yet entered a new one.
Here now the Hindus quit the path of philosophical speculation
and turn aside to traditional fables as regards the two places where
reward or punishment is given, e.g. that
S£S&. a *““ »» ««“ there as an incorporeal
being, and that after having received the
reward of his actions he again returns to a bodily appearance and
human shape, in order to be prepared for his further destiny.
Therefore, the author of the book Samkhya does not consider the
reward of paradise a special gain, because it has an end and is not
eternal, and because this kind of life resembles the life of this our
world; for it is not free from ambition and envy, having in itself
various degrees and classes of existence, whilst cupidity and desire
do not cease save where there is perfect equality.
The Sufi, too, do not consider the stay in paradise a special gain
for another reason, because there the soul delights ill other things but
the Truth, i.e. God, and its thoughts are
Sufi Parallel diverted from the Absolute Good by
things which are not the Absolute Good.
We have already said that, according to the belief of the Hindus,
the soul exists in these two places without a body. But this is only the
view of the educated among them, who
On the soul leaving the understand by the soul an independent
views being. However, the lower classes, and
those who cannot imagine the existence
of the soul without a body, hold about this subject verv different
views. One is this, that the cause of the agony of death is the soul’s
waiting for a shape which is to be prepared. It does not quit the body
before there has originated a cognate being of similar functions, one
of those which nature prepares either as an embryo in a mother’s
womb or as a seed in the bosom of the earth. Then the soul quits the
body in which it has been staying.
Others hold the more traditional view that the soul does not wait
On the Different Worlds
31
for such a thing, that it quits its shape on account of its weakness
whilst another body has been prepared for it out of the elements.
This body is called ativahika, i.e. that which grows in haste, because it
does not come into existence by being bom. The soul stays in this
body a complete year in the greatest agony, no matter whether it has
deserved to be rewarded or to be punished. This is like the Barzakh
of the Persians, an intermediary stage between the periods of acting
and earning and that of receiving award. For this reason the heir of
the deceased must, according to Hindus use, fulfil the rites of the
year for the deceased, duties which end with the end of the year, for
then the soul goes to that place which is prepared for it.
[Extracts from the Vishnu-Purana are quoted to illustrate these
ideas, Pp. 63-64.]
... A theosoph who inclines towards metempsychosis says: “The
metempsychosis has four degrees:
1. “The transferring, i.e. the procreation as limited to the human
species, because it transfers existence from one individual to another;
the opposite of this is—
2. “The transforming which concerns
men in particular, since they are trans¬
formed into monkeys, pigs, and elephants.
3. “A stable condition of existence, like the condition of the plants.
This is worse than transferring because it is a stable condition of life,
remains as it is through all times, and lasts as long as the mountains.”
4. “The dispersing the opposite of number 3, which applies to the
plants that are plucked, and to animals immolated as sacrifice,
because they vanish without leaving posterity.”
Abu-Yakub of Sijistan maintains in his book, called The disclosing of
that which is veiled, that the species are preserved; that metem¬
psychosis always proceeds in one and the same species, never
crossing its limits and passing into another species.
This was also the opinion of the ancient Greeks; ...
[Extracts from Socrates’ Phaedo are given; also the views of Plato
as stated by Johannes Grammaticus, pp. 65-67.]
Muslim authors on
metempsychosis
CHAPTER VII
On The Nature Of Liberation From The World,
And On The Path Leading Thereto
If the soul is bound up with the world, and its being bound up has a
certain cause, it cannot be liberated from this bond save by the
opposite of this identical cause. Now
First part according to the Hindus, as we have
Moksha in gene already explained, the reason of the
bond is ignorance, and therefore it can only be liberated by knowledge,
by comprehending all things in such a way as to define them both in
general and in particular, rendering superfluous any kind of
deduction and removing all doubts. For the soul distinguishing
between things ( ta onta) by means of definitions, recognises its own
self, and recognises at the same time that it is its noble lot to last for
ever, and that it is the vulgar lot of matter to change and to perish in
all kinds of shapes. Then it dispenses with matter, and perceives that
that which it held to be good and delightful is in reality bad and
painful. In this manner it attains real knowledge and turns away from
being arrayed in matter. Thereby action ceases, and both matter and
soul become free by separating from each other.
The terms of the Sufi as to the knowing being and his attaining
the stage of knowledge come to the same effect, for they maintain that
The Nature of Liberation from the World
33
he has two souls—an eternal one, not
Sufi parallel exposed to change and alteration, by
which he knows that which is hidden,
the transcendental world, and performs wonders; and another, a
human soul, which is liable to being changed and being bom.
... According to the Hindus, the organs of the senses have been
made for acquiring knowledge, and the pleasures which they afford
have been created to stimulate people to research and investigation,
as the pleasure which eating and drinking afford to the taste has been
created to preserve the individual by means of nourishment. So the
pleasure of coitus serves to preserve the species by giving birth to new
individuals. If there was not special pleasure in these two functions,
man and animals would not practice them for these purposes.
... Further, the Hindus think that a man becomes knowing in one
of three ways:—
1. By being inspired, not in a certain course of time, but at once, at
birth, and in the cradle as, e.g. the sage Kapila, for he was bom
knowing and wise.
2. By being inspired after a certain time, like the children of
Brahman, for they were inspired when they came of age.
3. By learning, and after a certain course of time, like all men who
learn when their mind ripens.
Liberation through knowledge can only be obtained by abstaining
from evil. The branches of evil are many, but we may classify them as
cupidity, wrath, and ignorance. If the roots
Cupidity, wrath and arc cut the branches will wither. And
ignorance are the chief , t ,
obstacles to Moksha here we have first to consider the rule of
the two forces of cupidity and wrath,
which are the greatest and most pernicious enemies of man, deluding
him bv the pleasure of eating and the delight of revenge, whilst in
reality they are much more likely to lead him into pains and crimes.
They make a man similar to the wild beasts and the cattle, nay,
even to the demons and devils.
Next, we have to consider that man must prefer the reasoning
force of mind, by which he becomes similar to the highest angels, to
the forces of cupidity and wrath; and, lastly, that he must turn away
from the actions of the world. He cannot, however, give up these
actions unless he does away with their causes, which are his lust and
ambition. Thereby the second of the three primary forces is cut away.
However, the abstaining /row action takes place in two different ways:
34
India by Al-Biruni
1. by laziness, procrastination, and ignorance according to the
third force. This mode is not desirable, for it will lead to a blamable
end.
2. By judicious selection and by preferring that which is better to
that which is good, which way leads to a laudable end.
The abstaining from actions is rendered perfect in this way, that a
man quits anything that might occupy him and shuts himself up
against it. Thereby he will be enabled to restrain his senses from
extraneous objects to such a degree that he does not any more know
that there exists anything besides himself, and be enabled to stop all
motions, and even the breathing. It is evident that a greedy man
strains to effect his object, the man who strains becomes tired, and
the tired man pants; so the panting is the result of greediness. If this
greediness is removed, the breathing becomes like the breathing of a
being living at the bottom of the sea, that does not want breath; and
then the heart quietly rests on one thing, viz. the search for liberation
and for arriving at the absolute unity.
... On account of what we have explained, it is necessary that
cogitation should be continuous, not in any way to be defined by
number; for a number always denotes repeated times, and repeated
times presuppose a break in the cogitation occurring between two
consecutive times. This would interrupt the continuity, and would
prevent cogitation becoming united with the object of cogitation.
And this is not the object kept in view, which is, on the contrary, the
cpntinuity of cogitation.
This goal is attained either in a single shape, i.e. a single stage of
metempsychosis, or in several shapes, in this way, that a man
perpetually practises virtuous behaviour and accustoms the soul
thereto, so that this virtuous behaviour becomes to it a nature and an
essential quality.
Virtuous behaviour
The nine commandments
of the Hindu religion
is that which is described by the religious law.
Its principal laws, from which they
derive many secondary ones, may be
summed up in following nine rules:—
1. A man shall not kill.
2. Nor lie.
3. Nor steal.
4. Nor whore.
5. Nor hoard up treasures.
6. He is perpetually to practise holiness and purity.
35
The Nature of Liberation from the World
7. He is to perform the prescribed fasting without an interruption
and to dress poorly.
8. He is to hold fast to the adoration of God with praise and
thanks.
9. He is always to have in mind the word am, the word of creation,
without pronouncing it. .
The injunction to abstain from killing as regards animals (No. 1) is
only a special part of the general order to abstain from doing anything
hurtful. Under this head falls also the robbing of another man’s goods
(No. 3), and the telling lies (No. 2), not to mention the foulness and
baseness of so doing. .
The abstaining from hoarding up (No. 5) means that a man is to
gi,e up toil and fatigue; that he who seeks the bounty of God feels
sure that he is provided for; and that, starting from the base slavery
of material life, we may, by the noble liberty of cogitation, attain
eternal bliss.
Practising purity (No. 6) implies that a man knows the filth of the
body, and that he feels called upon to hate it, and to love cleanliness
of soul. Tormenting oneself by poor dress (No. 7) means that a man
should redur • ■■ he body, allay its feverish desires, and sharpen its senses...
The holding fast to meditation on God and the angels means a
kind of familiar intercourse with them.
... In the book of Patanjali we read;
(foksha “We divide the P ath of liberation 11110
three parts:—
“I. The practical one (kriya-yoga), a process of habituating the senses
in a gentle way to detach themselves from the external world, and to
concentrate themselves upon the
internal one, so that they exclusively
occupy themselves with God. This is in
general the path of him who does not
desire anything save what is sufficient to sustain life.”
[Relevant extracts from Vishnu Dharma 12 and the Gita are given.
Pp. 77-79.]
... II. The second part of the path of liberation is renunciation
(the via omissionis ), based on the knowledge of the evil which exists in
the changing things of creation and their
The path of renunciation as vanishing shapes. In consequence the
the second part of the path heart s h U ns them, the longing for them
of liberation according to . . . , _
the Gita ceases, and a man is raised above the
Second part: The practical
path leading to Mok
According to Patanjali,
Vishnu-Dharma, and the
Gita
36
India by Al-Biruni
three primary forces which are the cause of actions and of their diversity.
For he who accurately understands the affairs of the world knows that
the good ones among them are evil in reality, and that the bliss which
they afford changes in the course of recompense into pains.
Therefore, he avoids everything which might aggravate his condition
of being entangled in the world, and which might result in making him
stay in the world for a still longer period.
.. . III. The third part of the^ path of liberation which is to be
considered a instrumental to the preceding two is worship , for this
purpose, that God should help a man to
Worship as the third part of obtain liberation, and deign to consider
according to the Gita him worthy of such a shape of existence
in the metempsychosis in which he may
effect his progress towards beatitude.
The author of the book Gita distributes the duties of worship
among the body, the voice, and the heart.
What the body has to do is fasting, prayer, the fulfilment of the law,
the service towards the angels and the sages among the Brahmans,
keeping clean the body, keeping aloof from killing under all circum¬
stances. and never looking at another man’s wife and other’s property.
What the voice has to do is the reciting of the holy texts, praising
God, always to speak the truth, to address people mildly, to guide
them, and to order them to do good.
What the heart has to do is to have straight, honest intentions, to
avoid haughtiness, always to be patient, to keep your senses under
control, and to have a cheerful mind.
... According to the Hindus, liberation is union with God; for
they describe God as a being who can dispense with hoping for a
recompense or with fearing opposition,
On ( the nature of Moksha unattainable to thought, because he is
sublime beyond all unlikeness which is
abhorrent and all likeness which is sympathetic, knowing himself not
by a knowledge which comes to him like an accident, regarding
something which had not in every phase before been known to him.
And this same description the Hindus apply to the liberated one, for he
is equal to God in all these things except in the matter of beginning,
since he has not existed from all eternity, and except this, that before
liberation he existed in the world of entanglement, knowing the objects
of knowledge only by a phantasmagoric kind of knowing which he
had acquired by absolute exertion, whilst the object of his knowing is
The Nature of Liberation from the World < 37
still covered, as it were, by a veil. On the contrary, in the world of
liberation all veils are lifted, all covers taken off, and obstacles
removed. There the being is absolutely knowing, not desirous ot
learning anything unknown, separated from the soiled perceptions o
the senses, united with the everlasting ideas. Therefore, m the end ot
the book of Patanjali, after the pupil has
Quotations from Patanjali asked about the nature of liberation the
master says: “If you wish, say Libera¬
tion is the cessation of the functions of the three forces, and their
returning to that home whence they had come. Or if you wish, say, it
is the return of the soul as a knowing being into its own nature.
Similar views are also met with among the Sufi. Some Sufi
author relates the following story: “A company of Sufi came down
unto us, and sat down at some distance
Sufi parallels from us. Then one of them rose, prayed,
and on, having finished his prayer,
turned towards me and spoke: ‘O master, do you know here a place
fit for us to die, on?’ Now I thought he meant sleeping, and so I pointed
out to him a place. The man went there, threw himself on the back of
his head, and remained motionless. Now I rose, went to him and
shook him but lo! he was already cold.”
The Sufi explains the Koranic verse, “We have made room for
him on earth” (Sura 18, 83), in this way: “If he wishes, the earth
rolls itself up for him; if he wishes, he can walk on the water and in
the air, which offer him sufficient resistance so as to enable him to
walk, whilst the mountains do not offer him any resistance when he
wants to pass through them.”
We next speak of those who, notwithstanding their greatest
exertions, do not reach the stage of
On those who do not reach liberation There are several classes ot
Moksha according to Snmkhya
them.
[Extracts from the Snmkhya are given in regard to those who do not
attain moksha (salvation). Similar ideas of some Greek writers such
as Ammonius, Plato and Proculus are referred to, Pp. 83-86.]
The doctrine of Patanjali is akin to that of the Sufi regarding being
occupied in meditation on the Truth (i.e. God), for they say, As long
as you point to something, you cannot be a monist; but when the Truth
seizes upon the object of your pointing and annihilates it, then there
is no longer an indicating person nor an object indicated.
There are some passages in their system which show that they
38
India by Al-Biruni
believe in the pantheistic union; e.g. one of them, being asked what is
the Truth (God), gave the following answer “How should I not know
the being which is / in essence and Not-1 in space? If I return once
more into existence, thereby I am separated from him; and if I am
neglected (i.e. not bom anew and sent into the world), thereby I
become light and become accustomed to the union 99 (sic). . .
Abu-Yazid Albistami once being asked how he had attained his
stage in Sufism, answered: “I cast off my own self as a serpent casts
off its skin. Then I considered my own self and found that I was He, 99
i.e. God. ...
[Al-Biruni concludes the chapter by adding that the Sufis say:]
“Between man and God there are a thousand stages of light and
darkness. Men exert themselves to pass through darkness to light,
and when they have attained to the stations of light, there is no return
for them.”
CHAPTER VIII
On The Different Classes Of Created Beings,
And On Their Names
The subject of this chapter is very difficult to study and understand
accurately, since we Muslims look at it from without, and the
Hindus themselves do not work it out to
scientific perfection. As we, however,
want it for the further progress of this
treatise, we shall communicate all we
The various classes of
creatures according to
Samkhya
have heard of it until the date of the present book. And first we give
an extract from the book Samkhya.
“The anchorite spoke: ‘How many classes and species are there of
living bodies?’
“The sage replied: ‘There are three classes of them—the spiritual
ones in the height, men in the middle, and animals in the depth. Their
species are fourteen in number, eight of which belong to the spiritual
beings: Brahman, Indra, Prajapati, Saumya, Gandharva, Yaksha,
Rakshasa, and Pisaca. Five species are those of the animals—cattle,
wild beasts, birds, creeping things, and growing things, i.e. the trees.
And, lastly, one species is represented by man.’”
The author of the same book has in another part of it given the
following enumeration with different names: “Brahman, Indra,
40
India by Al-Biruni
Prajapati, Gandharva, Yaksha, Rakshasa, Pitaras, Pisaca.”
The Hindus are people who rarely preserve one and the same
order of things, and in their enumeration of things there is much that
is arbitrary. They use or invent numbers of names, and who is to
hinder or to control them?
. . . According to the most popular view of the majority of the
Hindus, there are the following eight classes of spiritual beings:—
1. The Deva, or angels, to whom the
The author enumerates north belongs. They specially belong to
bemgs ClaSSeS ° f spmtual the Hindus. People say that Zoroaster
made enemies of the Shamaniyya or
Buddhists by calling the devils by the name of the class of angels
which they consider the highest, i.e. Deva. And this usage has been
transmitted from Magian times down to the Persian language of our
days.
2. Daitya, danava , the demons who live in the south. To them
everybody belongs who opposes the religion of the Hindus and
persecutes the cows. Notwithstanding the near relationship which
exists between them and the Deva, there is, as Hindus maintain, no
end of quarrelling and fighting among them.
3. Gandharva, the musicians and singers who make music before
the Deva. Their harlots are called Apsaras.
4. Yaksha, the treasurers or guardians of the Deva.
5. Rakshasa , demons of ugly and deformed shapes.
6. Kinnara, having human shapes but horses’ heads, being the
contrary of the centaurs of the Greek, of whom the lower half has the
shape of a horse, the upper half that of a man. The latter figure is that
of the Zodiacal sign of Arcitenens.
7. Xaga, beings in the shape of serpents.
8. Vidyadhara, demon-sorcerers, who exercise a certain witcftcr’aft,
but not such a one as to produce permanent results.
If we consider this series of beings, we find the angelic power at
the upper end and the demoniac at the lower, and between them
there is much interblending. The
Criticisms on this list qualities of these beings are different,
inasmuch as they have attained this
stage of life in the course of metempsychosis by actum, and actions
are different'pn account of the three primary forces. They live very long,
since they have entirely stripped off the bodies, since they are free
from all exertion, and are able to do things which are impossible t'
The Different Classes of Created Beings 41
mdn. They serve man in whatever he desires, and are near him in
case of need.
However, we can learn from the extract from Samkhya that this
view is not correct. For Brahman, Indra, and Prajapati are not
names of species, but of individuals. Brahman and Prajapati very
nearly mean the same, but they bear different names on account of
some quality or other. Indra is the ruler of the worlds. Besides,
Vasudeva enumerates the Yaksha and Rakshasa together in one and
the same class of demons, whilst the Puranas represent the Yaksha
as guardian-angels and the servants of guardian-angels.
After all this, we declare that the spiritual beings which we have
mentioned, are one category, who have attained their present stage
of existence by action during the time
On the Devas when they were human beings. They
have left their bodies behind them, for
bodies are weights which impair the power and shorten the duration
of life. Their qualities and conditions are different, in the same
measure as one or other of the three primary forces prevails over them.
The first force is peculiar to the Deva, or angels who live in quietness
and bliss. The predominant faculty of their mind is the comprehend¬
ing of an idea without matter ; as it is the predominant faculty of the
mind of man to comprehend the idea in matter.
The third force is peculiar to the Pisaca and Bhuta, whilst the
second is peculiar to the classes between them.
The Hindus say that the number of Deva is thirty-three koti or
crore, of which eleven belong to Mahadeva. Therefore this number is
one of his surnames, and his name .itself (Mahadeva) points in this
direction. The sum of the number of angels just mentioned would be
330,000,000.
Further, they represent the Deva as eating and drinking,
cohabiting, living and dying, since they exist within matter, though in
the most subtle and most simple kind of it, and since they have
attained this by action, not by knowledge. The book Patanjali relates
that Nandikesvara offered many sacrifices to Mahadeva, and was in
consequence transferred into paradise in his human shape; that
Indra, the ruler, had intercourse with the wife of Nahusha the
Brahmin, and therefore was changed into a serpent by way of
punishment.
After the Deva comes the class of the Pitaras, the deceased
ancestors, and after them the Bhuta, human beings who have
42
India by Al-Biruni
attached themselves to the spiritual beings (Deva), and stand in the
middle between them and mankind. He who holds this degree, but
without being free from the body, is
On the Pitaras and Rishis called either Rishi, Siddha or Muni, and
these differ among themselves accord¬
ing to their qualities. Siddha is he who has attained by his action the
faculty to do in the world whatever he likes, but who does not aspire
further, and does not exert himself on the path leading to liberation.
He may ascend to the degree of a Rishi. If a Brahmin attains this
degree, he is called Brahmarshi; if the Kshatriya attains it, he is called
Rajarshi. It is not possible for the lower classes to attain this degree.
Rishis are the sages who, though they are only human beings, excel
the angels on account of their knowledge. Therefore, the angels learn
from them, and above them there is none but Brahman.
After the Brahmarshi and Rajarshi come those classes of the
populace which exist also among us, the castes, to whom we shall
devote a separate chapter.
All these latter beings are ranged under matter. Now, as regards
the notion of that which is above matter, we say that the hule is the
middle between matter and the spiritual
Vishnu the unity of Brahman, divine ideas that are above matter, and
Narayana, and Rudra , r . . . .. .
that the three primary forces exist in the
hide dynamically ( en dunamei). So the hule with all that is
comprehended in it, is a bridge from above to below.
Any life which circulates in the hule under the exclusive influence
of the First Cause is called Brahman, Prajapati, and by many other
names which occur in their religious law and tradition. It is identical
with nature insofar as it is active, for all bringing into existence, the
creation of the world also, is attributed by them to Brahman.
Any life which circulates in the hule under the influence of the
second force is called Narayana in the tradition of the Hindus, which
means nature insofar as it has reached the end of its action, and is
now striving to preserve that which has been produced. Thus
Narayana strives so to arrange the world that it should endure.
Any life which circulates in the hule under the influence of the third
force is called Mahadeva and Samkara, but his best-known name is
Rudra. His work is destruction and annihilation, like nature in the last
stages of activity, when its power slackens.
These three beings bear different names, as they circulate through
the various degrees to above and below, and accordingly their
The Different Classes of Created Beings
43
actions are different.
But prior to all these beings there is one source whence every¬
thing is derived, and in this unity they comprehend all three things,
no more separating one from the other. This unity they call Vishnu, a
name which more properly designates the middle force; but sometimes
they do not even make a distinction between this middle force and the
first cause (i.e. they make Narayana the causa causarum).
Here there is an analogy between Hindus and Christians, as the
latter distinguish between the Three Persons and give them separate
names, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but unite them into one
substance.
This is what clearly results from a careful examination of the
Hindu doctrines. Of their traditional accounts, which are full of silly
notions, we shall speak hereafter in the course of our explanation.
You must not wonder if the Hindus, in their stories about the class of
the Deva, whom we have explained as angels, allow them all sorts of
things, unreasonable in themselves, some perhaps not objectionable,
others decidedly objectionable both of which the theologians of
Islam would declare to be incompatible with the dignity and nature
of angels.
If you compare these traditions with those of the Greeks regarding
their own religion, you will cease to find
the Hindu system strange . ..
[The stories of Zeus are mentioned. Al-
Greek parallels.
Stories about Zeus
Biruni remarks, as stated above, that compared to the Greek stories
those of the Hindus were less strange. Pp. 95-98.]
CHAPTER IX
On The Castes, Called “Colours” (Varna), And
On The Classes Below Them
If a new order of things in political or social life is created by a man
naturally ambitious of ruling, who by his character and capacity
really deserves to be a ruler, a man of
Throne and altar firm convictions and unshaken determi¬
nation, who even in times of reverses is
supported by good luck, insofar as people then side with him in
recognition of former merits of his, such an order is likely to become
consolidated among those for whom it was created, and to continue
as firm as the deeply rooted mountains. It will remain among them as
a generally recognised rule in all generations through the course of
time and the flight of ages. If, then, this new form of state or society
rests in some degree on religion, these twins, state and religion, are
in perfect harmony, and their union represents the highest develop¬
ment of human society, all that men can possibly desire.
The kings of antiquity, who were industriously devoted to the
duties of their office, spent most of their care on the division of their
subjects into different classes and orders, which they tried to
preserve from intermixture and disorder. Therefore, they forbade
people of different classes to have intercourse with each other, and
I he Castes, Called "Colours” ( Varna)
45
laid upon each class a particular kind of work or art and handicraft.
They did not allow anybody to transgress the limits of his class, and
even punished those who would not be content with their class.
All this is well illustrated by the history of the ancient Chosroes
(Khusrau), for they had created great institutions of this kind, which
could not be broken through by the
special merits of any individual nor by
bribery. When Ardashir ben Babak
Custes of the ancient
Persians
restored the Persian empire, he also restored the classes or castes of
the population in the following way:—
The first class were the knights and princes.
The second class the monks, the fire-priests, and the lawyers.
The third class the physicians, astronomers, and other men of
science.
The .fourth class the husbandmen and artisans.
And within these classes there were subdivisions, distinct from
each other, like the species within a genus. All institutions of this
kind are like a pedigree, as long as their origin is remembered; but
when once their origin has been forgotten, they become, as it were,
the stable property of the whole nation, nobody any more
questioning its-origin. And forgetting is the necessary result of any
long period of time, of a long succession of centuries and
generations.
Among the Hindus institutions of this kind abound. We Muslims,
of course, stand entirely on the other side of the question,
considering all men as equal, except in piety; and this is the greatest
obstacle which prevents any approach or understanding between
Hindus and Muslims.
The Hindus call their castes vama, i.e. colours , and from a
genealogical point of view they call
The four castes them jataka, i.e. births. These castes are
from the very beginning only four.
I. The highest caste are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the
Hindus tell that they were created from the head of Brahman. And as
Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the
head is the highest part of the animal body, the Brahmana are the
choice part of the whole genus. Therefore, the Hindus consider them
as the very best of mankind.
II. The next caste are the Kshatriya, who were created, as they
say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not
46
India by Al-Biruni
much below that of the Brahmana.
III. After them follow the Vaisya, who were created from the thigh
of Brahman.
IV. The Sudra, who were created from his feet.
Between the latter two classes there is not very great distance.
Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live
together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same
houses and lodgings.
After the Sudra follow the people called Antyaja, who render
various kinds of services, who are not reckoned amongst any caste,
but only as members of a certain craft
1 >ow-caste people or profession. There are eight 13 classes
of them, who freely intermarry with
each other, except the fuller, shoemaker, and weaver, for no others
would condescend to have anything to do with them. These eight
guilds are the fuller, shoemaker, juggler, the basket and shield maker,
the sailor, fisherman, the hunter of wild animals and of birds, and the
weaver. The four castes do not live together with them in one and the
same place. These guilds live near the villages and towns of the four
castes, but outside them.
The people called Hadi, Doma (Domba), Candala, and Badhatau
(sic) are not reckoned amongst any caste or guild. They are occupied
with dirty work, like the cleansing of the villages and other services.
They are considered as one sole class, and distinguished only by
their occupations. In fact, they are considered like illegitimate
children; for according to general opinion they descend from a Sudra
father and a Brahmani mother as the children of fornication;
therefore they are degraded outcastes.
The Hindus give to every single man ot the four castes charac¬
teristic names, according to their occupations and modes of life. For
example, the Brahmana is in general
called by this name as long as he does
his work staying at home. When he is
busy with the service of one fire, he is called ishtin; if he serves three
fires, he is called agnihotrin; if he besides offers an offering to the fire,
he is called dikshita. And as it is with the Brahmana, so is it also with
the other castes. Of the classes beneath the castes, the Hadi are the
best spoken of, because they keep themselves free from everything
unclean. Next follow the Doma, who play on the lute and sing. The
still lower classes practise as a trade killing and the inflicting of
Different occupations of
the castes and guilds
The Castes, Called “Colours” (Varna)
47
judicial punishments. The worst of all are the Badhatau, who not
only devour the flesh of dead animals, but even of dogs and other
beasts.
Each of the four castes, when eating together, must form a group
for themselves, one group not being allowed to comprise two men of
different castes. If, further, in the group
Customs of the Brahmins of the Brahmana there are two men who
live at' enmity with each other, and the
seat of the one is by the side of the other, they make a barrier
between the two seats by placing a board between them, or by
spreading a piece of dress, or in some other way; and if there is only
a line drawn between them, they are considered as separated. Since
it is forbidden to eat the remains of a meal, every single man must
have his own food for himself; for if any one of the party who are
eating should take of the food from one and the same plate, that
which remains in the plate becomes, after the first eater has taken
part, to him who waints to take as the second, the remains of the meal,
and such is forbidden.
Such is the condition of the four castes.
... Hindus differ among themselves as to which of these castes is
capable of attaining to liberation; for, according to some, only the
Brahmana and Kshatriya are capable of
it, since the others cannot learn the
Veda, whilst according to the Hindu
philosophers, liberation is common to all* castes and to the whole
human race, if their intention of obtaining it is perfect. This veiw is
based on the saying of Vyasa: “Learn to know the twenty-five things
thoroughly. Then you may follow whatever religion you like; you
will no doubt be liberated.” This view is also based on the fact that
Vasudeva was a descendant of a Sudra family, and also on the
following saying of his, which he addressed to Aijuna: “God
distributes recompense without injustice and without partiality. He
reckons the good as bad if people in doing good forget Him; he
reckons the bad as good if people in doing bad remember Him and
do not forget Him, whether those people be Vaisya or Sudra or
women. How much more will this be the case when they are
Brahmana or Kshatriya.”
Moksha and the various
castes
CHAPTER X
On The Source Of Their Religious And Civil
Law, On Prophets, And On The Question
Whether Single Laws Can Be Abrogated Or Not
The ancient Greeks received their religious and civil laws from sages
among them who were called to the work, and of whom their country¬
men believed that they received divine
help, like Solon, Draco, Pythagoras,
Minos, and others. Also their kings did
the same; for Mianos (sic), when ruling
over the islands of the sea and over the Cretans about two hundred
years after Moses, gave them laws, pretending to have received them
from Zeus. About the same time also Minos (sic) gave his laws
Such was the case with the Greeks, and it is precisely the same with
the Hindus. For they believe that their religious law and its single
The Rishis. the authors *?*!***“ ^ ^ ^
of Hindu law their sages, the pillars of their religion,
and not from the prophet, i.e. Narayana,
who, when coming into this world, appears in some human figure. But
he only comes in order to cut away some evil matter which threatens
the world, or to set the world light again when anything has gone
wrong. Further, no law can be exchanged or replaced by another, for
Law and religion among
I he Greeks founded by
their sages
49
The Source of Their Religibus and Civil Law
they use the laws simply as they find them. Therefore they can
dispense with prophets, as far as law and worship are concerned,
though in other affairs of the creation they sometimes want them.
As for the question of the abrogation of laws, it seems that this is
not impossible with the Hindus, for they say that many things which
are now forbidden were allowed before
Whether laws may be the coming of Vasudeva, e.g. the flesh of
cows. Such changes are necessitated by
the change of the nature of man, and by their being too feeble to bear
the whole burden of their duties. To these changes also belong the
changes of the matrimonial system and of the theory of descent For in
former times there were three modes of determining descent or
relationship:
1. The child bom to a man by his legi-
Different matrimonial timate wife is the child of the father, as is
the custom with us and with the Hindus.
2. If man marries a.woman and has a child by her; if, further, the
marriage-contract stipulates that the children of the woman will
belong to her father, the child is considered as the child of its grand¬
father who made that stipulation, and not as the child of its father who
engendered it.
3. If a stranger has a child by a married woman, the child belongs to
her husband, since the wife being, as it were, the soil in which the child
has grown, is the property of the husband, always presupposing that
the sowing, i.e. the cohabitation, takes place with his consent.
... All these customs have now been abolished and abrogated, and
therefore we may infer from their tradition that in principle the
abrogation of a law is allowable.
As regards unnatural kinds of marriage, we must state that such
exist still in our time, as they also existed in the times of Arab heathen-
Various kinds of marriage
with Tibetans and Arabs
dom; for the people inhabiting the
mountains stretching from the region of
Panchir into the neighbourhood of
Kashmir live under the rule that several brothers have one wife in
common. Among the heathen Arabs, too, marriage was of different
kinds:—
1. An Arab ordered his wife to be sent to a certain man to demand
sexual intercourse with him; then he abstained from her during the
whole time of her pregnancy, since he wished to have from her a
generous offspring. This is identical with the third kind of marriage
50
India by Al-Biruni
among the Hindus.
2. A second kind was this, that the one Arab said to the other,
“Cede me your wife, and I will cede you mine,” and thus they
exchanged their wives.
3. A third kind is this, that several men cohabited with one wife.
When, then, she gave birth to a child, she declared who was the father;
and if she did not know it, the fortune-tellers had to know it.
4. The Nikah-elmakt (= matrimonium exosum), i.e. when a man
married the widow of his father or of his son, the child of such a
marriage was called daizan. This is nearly the same as a certain Jewish
marriage, for the Jews have the law that a man must marry the widow
of his brother, if the latter has not left children, and create a line of
descent for his deceased brother; and the offspring is considered as
that of the deceased man, not as that of the real father. Thereby they
want to prevent his memory dying out in the world. In Hebrew they
call a man who is married in this way Yabharn.
[A similar institution among the Magians is referred to.
Pp. 109-110.]
We have here given an account of these things in order that the
reader may learn by the comparative treatment of the subject how
much superior the institutions of Islam are, and how much more
plainly this contrast brings out all customs and usages, differing from
those of Islam, in their essential foulness.
CHAPTER XI
About The Beginning Of Idol-Worship, And
A Description Of The Individual Idols
It is well known that the popular mind leans towards the sensible
world, and has an aversion to the world of abstract thought which
is only understood by highly educated
Origin of idol-worship people, of whom in every time and
m the nature of man every place there are only few. And as
common people will only acquiesce in pictorial representations,
many of the leaders of religious communities have so far deviated
from the right path as to give such imagery in their books and houses
of worship, like the Jews and Christians, and, more than all, the
Manichaeans. These words of mine would at once receive a
sufficient illustration if, for example, a picture of the Prophet were
made, or of Mekka and the Ka‘ba, and were shown to an unedu¬
cated man or woman. Their joy in looking at the thing would bring
them to kiss the picture, to rub their cheeks against it, and to roll
themselves in the dust before it, as if they were seeing not the picture,
but the original, and were in this way, as if they were present in the
holy places, performing the rites of pilgrimage, the great and the
small ones.
This is the cause which leads to the manufacture of idols,
52
India by Al-Biruni
monuments in honour of certain much venerated persons, prophets,
sages, angels, destined to keep alive their memory when they are
absent or dead, to create for them a lasting place of grateful
veneration in the hearts of men when they die. But when much time
passes by after the setting up of the monument, generations and
centuries, its origin is forgotten, it becomes a matter of custom, and
its veneration a rule for general practice. This being deeply rooted in
the nature of man, the legislators of antiquity tried to influence them
from this weak point of theirs. Therefore they made the veneration of
pictures and similar monuments obligatory on them, as is recounted
in historic records, both for the times before and after the Deluge.
Some people even pretend to know that all mankind, before God
sent them his prophets, were one large idolatrous body ...
Since, however, here we have to explain the system and the
theories of the Hindus on the subject, we shall now mention their
TJ , ,, . ludicrous views; but we declare at once
to the low classes of people that they are held only by the common
uneducated people. For those who
march on the path to liberation, or those who study philosophy and
theology, and who desire abstract truth which they call sara, are
entirely free from worshipping anything but God alone, and would
never dream of worshipping an image manufactured to represent
Him.
[There follows the story of King Ambrisha who after a successful
reign had taken exclusively to meditation and worship. Thereupon
Indra appeared before him and, in answer to a question by
Ambrisha, instructed him that if he was ‘ever overpowered by
human forgetfulness’ he should make for himself an image like that
in which Indra had appeared before him and offer to it perfume and
flower. Thus he would always remember him’. Pp. 113-15.)
... From that time, the Hindus say, people make idols, some with
four hands like the appearance we have described, others with two
hands, as the story and description require, and conformably to the
being which is to be represented.
... A famous idol of theirs was that of Multan, dedicated to the
sun, and therefore called Adilya. It was of wood and covered with red
Cordovan leather; in its two eyes were
two red rubies. It is said to have been
made in the last Kritayuga. Suppose
that it was made in the very end of Kritayuga, the time which has
The idol of Multan called
Aditya
The Beginning of Idol Worship
53
since elapsed amounts to 216,432 years. When Muhammad Ibn
Alkasim Ibn Almunabbih conquered Multan, he inquired how the
town had become so very flourishing and so many treasures had
there been accumulated, and then he found out that this idol was the
cause, for there came pilgrims from all sides to visit it. Therefore, he
thought it best to have the idol where it was, but he hung a piece of
cow’s flesh on its neck by way of mockery. On the same place a
mosque was built. When then the Karmatians 14 occupied Multan,
Jalam Ibn Shaiban, the usurper, broke the idol into pieces and killed
its priests. He made his mansion, which was a castle built of brick on
an elevated place, the mosque instead of the old mosque, which he
ordered to be shut from hatred against anything that had been done
under the dynasty of the Caliphs of the house of‘Umayya. When
afterwards the blessed Prince Mahmud swept away their rule from
those countries, he made again the old mosque the place of the
Friday-worship, and the second one was left to decay. At present it
is only a barn-floor, where bunches of Hinna (Lawsonia inermis) are
bound together... . ., ,
The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by the Hindus. The idol
of that place is called Cakrasvamin, i.e. the owner of the cakra, a
weapon ... It is of bronze, and is nearly
The idol of Taneshar th e s j ze c f a man . It is now lying in the
celled Cakrasvamin hippodrome in Ghazna, together with
the Lord of Somanath which is a representation of the penis of
Mahadeva, called Linga. Of Somanath we shall hereafter speak in the
proper place. This Cakrasvamin is said to have been made in the
time of Bharata as a memorial of wars connected with this name.
In Inner Kashmir, about two or three days’ journey from the
capital in the direction towards the
The idol Sarada in Kashmir mountains of Bolor, there is a wooden
idol called Sarada, which is much
venerated and frequented by pilgrims.
We shall now communicate a whole chapter from the book
Samhita relating to the construction of
idols, which will help the student tho¬
roughly to comprehend the present
subject.
Varahamihira 15 says: “If the figure is made to represent Rama the
son of Dasaratha, or Bali the son of Virocana, give it the height of
120 digits,” i.e. of idol digits, which must be reduced by one-tenth to
Quotation from the Samhita
of Varahamihira
54
India by Al-Biruni
become common digits, in this case 108.
“To the idol of Vishnu give eight hands, or four, or two, and on the
left side under the breast give him the figure of the woman Sri. If you
give him eight hands, place in the right hands a sword, a club of gold
or iron, an arrow, and make the fourth hand as if it were drawing
water; in the left hands give him a shield, a bow, a cakra, and a conch.
If you give him two hands, let the right hand be drawing water,
the left holding a conch.
“If the figure is to represent Baladeva, the brother of Narayana,
put earrings into his ears, and give him eyes of a drunken man.
“If you make both figures, Narayana and Baladeva, join with
them their sister Bhagavati (Durga = Ekanansa), her left hand resting
on her hip a little away from the side, and her right hand holding a
lotus.
“If you make her four-handed, place in the right hands a rosary
and a hand drawing water; in the left hands, a book and a lotus.
“If you make her eight-handed, place in the left hands the
kamandalu, i.e. a pot, a lotus, bow and book; in the right hands, a
rosary, a mirror, an arrow, and a water-drawing hand ...
“The idol of Brahman has four faces towards the four sides, and is
seated on a lotus.
The idol of Skanda, the son of Mahadeva, is a boy riding on a
peacock, his hands holding a sakti, a weapon like a double-edged
sword, which has in the middle a pestle like that of a mortar.
“The idol Indra holds in its hand a weapon called vajra of
diamond. It has a similar handle to the sakti, but on each side it has
two swords which join at the handle. On his front place a third eye
and make him ride on a white elephant with four tusks.
Likewise make on the front of the idol of Mahadeva a third eye
right*above, on his head a crescent, in his hand a weapon called sula,
similar to the club but with three branches, and a sword; and let his
left hand hold his wife Gauri, the daughter of Himavant, whom he
presses to his bosom from the side.”
“To the idol Jina, Le. Buddha, give a face and limbs as beautiful as
possible, make the lines in the palms of his hands and feet like a
lotus, and represent him seated on a lotus; give him grey hair, and
represent him with a placid expression, as if he were the father of
creation ...
“The idol of Kubera, the teasurer, wears a crown, has a big
stomach and wide hips, and is riding on a man.
The Beginning of Idol Worship
55
“The idol of the sun has a red face like the pith of the red lotus,
beams like a diamond, has protruding limbs, rings in the ears, the
neck adorned with pearls which hang down over the breast, wears a
crown of several compartments, holds in his hands two lotuses, and
is clad in the dress of the Northerners which reaches down to the
ankle.
“If you represent the Seven Mothers, represent several of them
together in one figure, Brahmani with four faces towards the four
directions, Kaumari with six faces, Vaishnavi with four hands,
Varahi with a hog’s head on a human body, Indrani with many eyes
and a club in her hand, Bhagavati (Durga) sitting as people generally
sit, Camunda ugly, with protruding teeth and a slim waist. Further
join with them the sons of Mahadeva, Kshetrapala with bristling
hair, a sour face, and an ugly figure, but Vinayaka with an elephant’s
head on a human body, with four hands, as we have heretofore
described.”
The worshippers of these idols kill sheep and buffaloes with axes
(kutara), that they may nourish themselves with their blood. All idols
are constructed according to certain measures determined by idol-
fingers for every single limb, but sometimes they differ regarding the
measure of a limb. If the artist keeps the right measure and does not
make anything too large nor too small, he is free from sin, and is sure
that the being which he represented will not visit him with any
mishap.
.. . The Hindus honour their idols on account of those who
erected them, not on account of the material of which they are made.
We have already mentioned that the idol of Multan was of wood, e.g.
the linga which Rama erected when he had finished the war with the
demons was of sand, which he had heaped up with his own hand. But
then it became pertified all at once, since the astrologically correct
moment for the erecting of the monument fell before the moment
when the workmen had finished the cutting of the stone monument
which Rama originally had ordered. Regarding the building of the
temple and its peristyle, the cutting of the trees of four different
kinds, the astrological determination of the favourable moment for
the erection, the celebration of the rites due on such an occasion,
regarding all this Rama gave very long and tedious instructions.
Further, he ordered that servants and priests to minister to the idols
should be nominated from different classes of the people. “To the
idol of Vishnu are devoted the class called Bhagavata; to the idol of
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India by Al-Biruni
showing that God is not to be
confounded with the idols
the Sun, the Maga, i.e. the Magians; to the idol of Mahadeva, a class
of saints, anchorites with long hair, who cover their skin with ashes,
hang on their persons the bones of dead people, and swim in the
pools. The Brahmana are devoted to the Eight Mothers, the
Shamanians, to Buddha, to Arhant the class called Nagna. On the
whole, to each idol certain people are devoted who constructed it, for
those know best how to serve it.”
Our object in mentioning all this mad raving was to teach the
reader the accurate description of an idol, if he happens to see one
and to illustrate what we have said
Quotations from the Gita before, that such idols are erected only
for uneducated low-class people of little
understanding; that the Hindus never
made an idol of any supernatural being, much less of God; and.
lastly, to show how the crowd is kept in thraldom by all kinds of
priestly tricks and deceits.
[An extract from the Gita is quoted to show that God is not to be
confounded with the idols. Pp. 122-24.]
... It is evident that the first cause of idolatry was the desire of
commemorating the dead and of consoling the living; but on this basis
it has developed, and has finally become a foul and pernicious abuse.
The former view, that idols are only memorials, was also held by
the Caliph Muawiya regarding the idols of Sicily. When, in the
summer of A.H. 53, Sicily was conquered, and the conquerors sent
him golden idols adorned with crowns and diamonds which had been
captured there, he ordered them to be sent to Sind, that they should
be sold there to the princes of the country; for he thought it best to
sell them as objects costing sums of so-and-so many denars, not
having the slightest scruple on account of their being objects of
abominable idolatry, but simply considering the matter from a
political, not from a religious point of view.
CHAPTER XII
On The Veda, The Puranas, And Other Kinds
Of Their National Literature
Veda means knowledge of that which was before unknown. It is a
religious system which, according to the Hindus, comes from God,
„ , , . and was promulgated by the mouth of
to the Veda Brahman. The Brahmins recite the
Veda without understanding its mean¬
ing and in the same way they learn it by heart, the one receiving it
from the other. Only few of them learn its explantation, and still less
is the number of those who master the contents of the Veda and their
interpretation to such a degree as to be able to hold a theological
disputation.
The Brahmins teach the Veda to the Kshatriyas. The latter learn
it, but are not allowed to teach it, not even to a Brahmin. The Vaisya
and Sudra are not allowed to hear it, much less to pronounce and
recite it. If such a thing can be proved against one of them, the
Brahmins drag him before the magistrate, and he is punished by
having his tongue cut off.
The Veda contains commandments and prohibitions, detailed
statements about reward and punishment intended to encourage and
to deter; but most of it contains hymns of praise, and treats of the
58
India by Al-Biruni
various kinds of sacrifices to the fire, which are so numerous and
difficult that you could hardly count them.
They do not allow the Veda to be committed to writing, because it
is recited according to certain modulations, and they therefore avoid
the use of the pen, since it is liable to
cause some error, and may occasion an
addition or a defect in the written text.
The Veda transmitted
by memory
In consequence it has happened that they have several times
forgotten the Veda and lost it ...
Further, the Hindus maintain that the Veda, together with all the
rites of their religion and country, had been obliterated in the last
Dvapara yuga, a period of time of which we shall speak at the proper
place, until it was renewed by Vyasa, the son of Parasara ...
This is the reason why, not long before our time, Vasukra, a native
of Kashmir, a famous Brahmin, has of his own account undertaken
the task of explaining the Veda and
Vasukra commits the Veda committing it to writing. 16 He has taken
to writing # ,
on himself a task from which everybody
else would have recoiled, but he earned it out because he was afraid
that the Veda might be forgotten and entirely vanish out of the
memories of men, since he observed that the characters of men grew
worse and worse, and that they did not care much for virtue, nor
even for duty.
There are certain passages in the Veda which, as they maintain,
must not be recited within dwellings, since they fear that they would
cause an abortion both to women and the cattle. Therefore, they step
out into the open field to recite them there. There is hardly a single
verse free from such and similar minatory injunctions.
As we have already mentioned, the books of the Hindus are
metrical compositions like the Rajaz poems of the Arabs. Most of
them are composed in a metre called sloka. The reason of this has
already been explained ...
The Veda, however, is not composed in this common metre, sloka,
but in another. Some Hindus say that no one could compose
anything in the same metre. However, their scholars maintain that
this is possible indeed, but that they refrain from trying it merely
from veneration for the Veda.
The four pupils of Vyasa
and the four Vedas
According to their tradition, Vyasa
divided it into four parts: Rigveda, Yajur-
veda, Samaveda, and Atharvanaveda . ..
The Vedas, the Puranas and other National Literature
59
Each of the four parts has a peculiar kind of recitation. The first is
Rigveda, consisting of metrical compositions called ric, which are of
different lengths. It is called Rigveda as
On the Rigveda being the totality of the ric. It treats of the
sacrifices to the fire, and is recited in
three different ways. First, in a uniform manner of reading, just as
every other book is read. Secondly, in such a way that a pause is
made after every single word. Thirdly, in a method which is the most
meritorious, and for which plenty of reward in heaven is promised.
First you read a short passage, each word of which is distinctly
pronounced; then you repeat it together with a part of that which
has not yet been recited. Next you recite the added portion alone,
and then you repeat it together with the next part of that which has
not yet been recited, etc., etc. Continuing to do so till the end, you will
have read the whole text twice.
The Yajurveda is composed of kandin The word is a derivative
noun, and means the totality of the kandin. The difference between this
and the Rigveda is that it may be read
On the Yajurveda as a text connected by the rules of
Samdhi, which is not allowed in the
case of Rigveda. The one as well as the other treats of works
connected with the fire and the sacrifices.
.. . The Samaveda treats of the sacrifices, commandments and
prohibitions. It is recited in a tone like a chant, and hence its name
Samaveda and Atha^anaveda * deriVed , Realise saman means the
sweetness of recitation
... The Atharvanaveda is as a text connected by the rules of
Samdhi. It does not consist of the same compositions as the Rig and
Yajur Vedas, but of a third kind called bhara. It is recited according to
a melody with a nasal tone. This Veda is less in favour with the
Hindus than the others. It likewise treats of the sacrifices to the fire,
and contains injunctions regarding the dead and what is to be done
with them.
As to the Puranas, we first mention that the word means first,
eternal. There are eighteen Puranas, most of them called by the
names of animals, human or angelic
List of the Puranas beings, because they contain stories
about them, or because the contents of
the book refer in some way to them, or because the book consists of
answers which the creature whose name forms the title of the book
60
India by Al-Biruni
has given to certain questions.
The Puranas 16A are of human origin, composed by the so-called
Rishis. In the following I give a list of their names, as I have heard
them, and committed them to writing from dictation:—
1. Adi-purana, i.e. the first.
2. Matsya-purana, i.e. the fish.
3. Kurma-purana, i.e. the tortoise.
4. Varaha-purana, i.e. the boar.
5. Narasimha-purana, i.e. a human being with a lion’s head.
6. Vamana-purana, i.e. the dwarf.
7. Vayu-purana, i.e. the wind.
8. Nanda-purana, i.e. servant of Mahadeva.
9. Skanda-purana, i.e. a son of Mahadeva.
10. Aditya-purana, i.e. the sun.
11. Soma-purana, i.e. the moon.
12. Samba-purarM, i.e. the son of Vishnu.
13. Brahmanda-purana, i.e. heaven.
14. Markandeya-purana , i.e. a great Rishi.
15. Tarkshya-purana, i.e. the bird Garuda.
16. Vishnu-purana, i.e. Narayana.
17. Brahma-purana, i.e. the nature charged with the preservation of
the world.
18. Bhavishya-purana, i.e. future things.
Of all this literature I have only seen portions of the Matsya,
Aditya, and Vayu Puranas....
The book Smriti 17 is derived from the Veda. It contains command¬
ments and prohibitions, and is compos-
A list of Smriti books e( j by t h e following twenty sons of
Brahman:—
1. Apastamba, 2. Parasara, 3. Satatapa, 4. Samvarta, 5. Daksha,
6. Vasishtha, 7. Angiras, 8. Yama, 9. Vishnu, 10. Manu, 11. Yajna-
valkya, 12. Atri, 13. Harita, 14. Likhita, 15. Sankha, 16. Gautama,
17. Vrihaspati, 18. Katyayana, 19. Vyasa, 20. Usanas.
Besides, the Hindus have books about the jurisprudence of their
religion, on theosophy, on ascetics, on the process of becoming god
and seeking liberation from the world, as, e.g. the book composed by
Gauda the anchorite, l7A which goes by his name; the book Samkhya,
composed by Kapila, on divine subjects; the book of Patanjali, on
the search for liberation and for the union of the soul with the object
of its meditation; the book Nyayabhasha 18 composed by Kapila on
/
The Vedas, the Puranas and other National Literature
61
the Veda and its interpretation, also showing that it has been created
and distinguishing within the Veda between such injunctions as are
obligatory in certain cases, and those which are obligatory in general;
further, the book Mimamsa ,9 , composed by Jaimini, on the same
subject; the book Laukayata , 20 composed by Brihaspati, treating of
the subject that in all investigations we must exclusively rely upon
the apperception of the senses; the book Agastyarnata 20A composed
by Agastya, treating of the subject that in all investigations we must
use the apperception of the senses as well as tradition; and the book
Vishnu dhmma . The word dharma means reward, but in general it
is used for religion; so that this title means The Religion of God, which
in this case is understood to be Narayana. Further, there are the
books of the six pupils of Vyasa, viz. Devala, Sukra, Bhargava,
Vrihaspati, Yagnavalkya, and Manu. The Hindus have numerous
books about all the branches of science. How could anybody know
the titles of all of them, more especially if he is not a Hindu, but
a foreigner?
Besides, they have a book which they hold in such veneration that
they firmly assert that everything which occurs in other books is
found also in this book, but not all
Mahabharata which occurs in this book is found in
other books. It is called Bharata, and
composed by Vyasa the son of Parasara at the time of the great war
between the children of Pandu and those of Kuru. The title itself gives
an indication of those times. The book has 100,000 slokas in
eighteen parts, each of which is called Parvan. Here we give the list of
them.
1. Sabha-parva, i.e. the king’s dwelling.
2. Aranya, i.e. going out into the open field, meaning the exodus
of the children of Pandu.
3. Virata, i.e. the name of a king in whose realm they dwelt
during the time of their concealment.
4. Udyoga, i.e. the preparing for battle.
5. Bhishma.
6. Drona, the Brahmin.
7. Kama, the son of the Sun.
8. Salya, the brother of Duryodhana, some of the greatest heroes
who did the fighting, one always coming forward after his
predecessor had been killed.
9. Gada, i.e. the club.
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India by Al-Biruni
10. Sauptika, i.e. the killing of the jsleepers, when Asvatthaman
the son of Drona attacked the city of Pancala during the night
and killed the inhabitants.
11. Jalapradanika, i.e. the successive drawing of water for the
dead, after people have washed off the impurity caused by the
touching of the dead.
12. Stri, i.e. the lamentations of the women.
13. Santi, containing 24,000 slokas on eradicating haired from
the heart, in four parts:
(1) Rajadharma, on the reward of the kings.
(2) Danadharma, on the reward for alms-giving.
(3) Apaddharma, on the reward of those who are in need and
trouble.
(4) Mokshadharma, on the reward of him who is liberated from
the world.
14. Asvamedha, i.e. the sacrifice of the horse which is sent
out together with an army to wander through the world. Then
they proclaim in public that it belongs to the king of the world,
and that he who does not agree thereto is to come forward to
fight. The Brahmans follow the horse, and celebrate
sacrifices to the fire in those places where the horse drops its
dung.
15. Mausala, i.e. the fighting of the Yadavas, the tribe of
Vasudeva, among themselves.
16. Asramavasa, i.e. leaving one’s own country.
17. Prasthana, i.e. quitting the realm to seek liberation.
18. Svargarohana, i.e. journeying towards Paradise.
These eighteen parts are followed by another one which is called
Harivamsa-Parvan, which contains the traditions relating to Vasudeva.
In this book there occur passages which, like riddles, admit of
manifold interpretations. As to the reason of this the Hindus relate
the following story:—Vyasa asked Brahman to procure him
somebody who might write for him the Bharata from his dictation.
Now he entrusted with this task his son Vinayaka, who is represent¬
ed as an idol with an elephant’s head, and made it obligatory on him
never to cease from writing. At the same time Vyasa made it
obligatory on him to write only that which he understood. Therefore
Vyasa, in the course of his dictation, dictated such sentences as
compelled the writer to ponder over them, and thereby Vyasa gained
time for resting awhile.
CHAPTER XIII
Their Grammatical And Metrical Literature
The two sciences of grammar and metrics are auxiliary to the other
sciences. Of the two, the former, grammar, holds the first place in
their estimate, called vyakarana, i.e. the
List of books on grammar law of the correctness of their speech
and etymological rules, by means of
which they acquire and eloquent and classical style both in writing
and reading. We Muslims cannot learn anything of it, since it is a
branch coming from a root which is not within our grasp—I mean the
language itself. That which I have been told as to titles of books on
this science is the following:—
1. Aindra, attributed to Indra, the head of the angels.
2. Candra, composed by Candra, one of the red-robe-wearing sect,
the followers of Buddha.
3. Sakata , so called by the name of its author. His tribe, too, is
called by a name derived from the same word, viz. Sakatayana.
4. Panini 21 , so called from its author.
5. Katantra, composed by Sarvavarman.
6. Sasidevavritti , composed by Sasideva.
7. Durgavivritti.
8. Sishyahitavritti, comppsed by Ugrabhuti.
64
India by Al-Biruni
I have been told that the last-mentioned author was the teacher
and instructor of Shah Anandapala, the son of Jayapala, who ruled
in our time. After having composed the
book he sent it to Kashmir, but the
people there did not adopt it, being in
Shah Anandapala and
his master Ugrabhuti
such things haughtily conservative. Now he complained of this to the
Shah, and the Shah, in accordance with the duty of a pupil towards
his master, promised him to make him attain his wish. So he gave
orders to send 200,000 dirham and presents of a similar value to
Kashmir, to be distributed among those who studied the book of his
master. The consequence was that they all rushed upon the book,
and would not copy any otner grammar but this one, showing
themselves in the baseness of their avarice. The book became the
fashion and highly prized.
Of the origin of grammar they give the following account:—One of
their kings, called Samalvahana, i.e. in the classical language,
_ , , . , Satavahana, was one day in a pond
Tale relating to the . . ..... . , , .,
origin of grammar playing with his wives, when he said to
one of them “Maudakam dehi,” i.e. do not
sprinkle the water on me. The woman, however, understood it as if he
had said modakam dehi , i.e. bring sweetmeats. So she went away and
brought him sweetmeats. And when the king disapproved of her
doing so, she gave him an angry reply, and used coarse language
towards him. Now he was deeply offended, and, in consequence, as
is their custom, he abstained from all food, and concealed himself in
some comer until he was called upon by a sage, who consoled him,
promising him that he would teach people grammar and the
inflexions of the language. Thereupon the sage went off to
Mahadeva, praying, praising, and fasting devoutly. Mahadeva
appeared to him, and communicated to him some few rules, the like
of which Abul’aswad Addu’ali 22 has given for the Arabic language.
The god also promised to assist him in further development of this
science. Then the sage returned to the king and taught it to him. This
was the beginning of the science of grammar.
Grammar is followed by another science, called chandas, i.e. the
metrical form of poetry, corresponding to our metrics—a science
The predilection of the
Hindus for metrical
compositions
indispensable to them, since all their
books are in verse. By composing their
books in metres they intend to facilitate
their being learned by heart, and to
Grammatical and Metrical Literature
65
prevent people in all questions of science ever recurring to a written
text, save in a case of bare necessity. For they think that the mind of
man sympathises with everything in which there is symmetry and
order, and has an aversion to everything in which there is no order.
Therefore, most Hindus are passionately fond of their verses, and
always desirous of reciting them, even if they do not understand the
meaning of the words, and the audience will snap their fingers in
token of joy and applause. They do not want prose compositions,
although it is much easier to understand them.
Most of their books are composed in sloka, in which I am now
exercising myself, being occupied in composing for the Hindus a
translation of the books of Euclid and of the Almagest, and dictating
to them a treatise on the construction of the astrolabe, being simply
guided herein by the desire of spreading science. If the Hindus happen
to get some book which does not yet exist among them, they set at
work to change it into Slokas, which are rather unintelligible, since the
metrical form entails a constrained, affected style, which will
become apparent when we shall speak of their method of expressing
numbers. And if the verses are not sufficiently affected, their authors
meet with frowning faces, as having committed something like mere
prose, and then they will feel extremely unhappy. God will do me
justice in what I say of them.
The first who invented this art were Pingala and (? CLT).
The books on the subject are numerous. The most famous of them is
is the book Gaisita (? G—AI—S—T), so
Books on metrics called from its author, famous to such a
degree that even the whole science of
metrics has been called by this name. Other books are that of Mriga-
lanchana, that of Pingala, and that of (? U (Au)—L—Y—
A—N—D). I, however, have not seen any of these books, nor do I
know much of the chapter of the Brahma-siddhanta which treats of
metrical calculations, and therefore I have no claim to a thorough
knowledge of the laws of their metrics. Nevertheless, I do not think it
right to pass by a subject of which I have only a smattering, and I
shall not postpone speaking of it until I shall have thoroughly
mastered it.
In counting the syllables (ganachandas ) they use similar figures to
those used by Alkhalil Ibn Ahmad and our metricians to denote the
consonant without vowel and the consonant with vowel, viz. these two
signs, and >, the former of which is called laghu, i.e. light; the
66
India by Al-Biruni
On the meaning of the tech¬
nical terms laghu and guru
latter, gum, i.e. heavy. In measuring
(matrachandas ), the gum is reckoned
double of a laghu, and its place may be
tilled by two laghu.
Further, they have a syllable which they call long ( dirgha ), the
measure or prosody of which is equal to that of di guru. This, I think,
is a syllable with a long vowel (like ka, ki, ku). Here, however, I must
confess that up to the present moment I have not been able to gain a
clear idea of the nature of both laghu and guru , so as to be able to
illustrate them by similar elements in Arabic. However, I am
inclined to think that laghu does not mean a consonant without vowel,
nor guru a consonant with vowel, but that, on the contrary, laghu means
a consonant with a short vowel (e.g. ka, ki, ku ), and gum means the
same with a vowelless consonant (e.g. kat, kit, kut ), like an element in
Arabic metrics called Sahab (i.e.—or w, a long syllable the place of
which may be taken by two short ones). That which makes me doubt
as to the first-mentioned definition of laghu is this circumstance, that
the Hindus use many laghu one after the other in an uninterrupted
succession. The Arabs are not capable of pronouncing two
vowelless consonants one after the other, but in other languages this
is possible.
.. . Further, although it is difficult to pronounce a vowelless
consonant at the beginning of a word, most nouns of the Hindus
begin, if not exactly with vowelless consonants, still with such
consonants as have only a Schwa-like vowel-sound to follow
them. If such a consonant stands at the beginning of a verse, they
drop it in counting, since the law of the guru demands that in it the
vowelless consonant shall not precede but follow the vowel ( ka-t, ki-t,
ku-t).
Further, as our people have composed out of the feet
certain schemes or types, according to which verses are constructed,
and have invented signs to denote the
Definition of matra component parts of a foot, i.e. the
consonant with and without a vowel, in
like manner also the Hindus use certain names to denote the feet
which are composed of laghu and guru, either the former preceding
and the latter following or vice versa, in such a way, however, that the
measure must always be the same, whilst the number of syllables may
vary. By these names they denote a certain conventional prosodic
unity (i.e. certain feet). By measure , I mean that laghu is reckoned =
Grammatical and Metrical Literature
67
one matra, i.e. measure, and guru = two matra. If they represent a foot
in writing, they only express the measure of the syllables, not their
number, as, e.g. (in Arabic) a double consonant (kka) is counted as a
consonant without vowel plus a consonant with vowel, and a
consonant followed by Tanwin ( kun ) is counted as a consonant with
a vowel plus a consonant without vowel, whilst in writing both are
represented as one and the same thing (i.e. by the sign of the
consonant in question).
Taken alone by themselves, laghu and guru are called by various
names: the former, la, kali, rupa, camara, andgra/wz; the latter, ga mvra,
and a half amsaka. The latter name
Names of laghu and guru shows that a complete amsaka is equal
to two guru or their equivalent. These
names they have invented simply to facilitate the versification of
their metrical books. For this purpose they have invented so many
names that one may fit into the metre if others will not.
[Al-Biruni describes a single foot, and quotes a lexicographical
work by Haribhatta on the arrangement of the feet. Pp. 140-42.]
As the Arabic verse is divided into two halves or hemistichs by the
arud, i.e. the last foot of the first hemistich, and the darh, i.e. the last
foot of the second hemistich, in like
On the padas manner the verses of the Hindus are
divided into two halves, each of which
is called foot ( pada) ...
The verse is divided into three, or more commonly into four pada.
Sometimes they add a fifth pada in the middle of the verse. The padas
have no rhyme, but there is a kind of
On the metre Arya metre, in which the 1 and 2 padas end
with the same consonant or syllable as
if rhyming on it, and also the padas 3 and 4 end with the same
consonant or syllable. This kind is called A rya. At the end of the pada
a laghu may become di guru, though in general this metre ends with a
laghu .
The different poetical works of the Hindus contain a great number
of metres. In the metre of 5 padas, the fifth pada is placed between
padas 3 and 4. The names of the metres differ according to the number
of syllables, and also according to the verses which follow. For they
do not like all the verses of a long poem to belong to one and the
same metre. They use many metres in the same poem, in order that it
should appear like an embroidered piece of silk.
68
India by Al-Biruni
[The difference between the Arab and Hindu method of the
lotation of a pada is given. P. 144.]
I have already once pleaded as my excuse, and do so here a
second time, that my slender knowledge of this science does not
enable me to give the reader a complete insight into the subject. Still
I take the greatest pains with it, though I am well aware that it is only
very little I can give.
The name Vritta applies to each four -pada metre in which the signs
of both the prosody and the number of the syllables are like each
other, according to a certain corres-
On the metre Vritta pondence of the padas among them¬
selves, so that if you know one pada, you
know also the other ones, for they are like it. Further, there is a law
that a pada cannot have less than four syllables, since a pada with less
does not occur in the Veda. For the same reason the smallest number
of the syllables of a pada is four, the largest twenty-six. In con¬
sequence, there are twenty-three varieties of the Vritta metre,
which we shall here enumerate:—
[The consequential twenty-three varieties of the Vritta metre are
enumerated. Pp. 145-46.]
... If we here take so much trouble with Indian metrics, we do it
for the purpose of fixing the laws of the■ Sloka, since most of their
books are composed in it.
The Sloka belongs to the ionr-pada metres. Each pada has eight
syllables, which are different in all four padas. The last syllable of
each of the four padas must be the same.
Theory of the sloka viz. a guru. Further, the fifth syllable in
each pada must always be laghu, the sixth
syllable guru. The seventh syllable must be laghu in the second and
fourth padas, guru in the first and third padas. The other syllables are
entirely dependent upon accident or the writer’s fancy.
[A quotation from Brahmagupta, showing the way in which the
Hindus use arithmetic in the metrical system, is given. At the end of
the quotation Al-Biruni regrets the fact that he could see only ‘a
single leaf ’ of the treatise mentioned above and expresses the hope
that he would be able to learn more of the subject later on. Also
notes that, ‘as far as he could guess’, the Greeks used in their poetry
similar feet to that of the Hindus. Pp. 147-51.)
CHAPTER XIV
Hindu Literature In The Other Sciences,
Astronomy, Astrology, Etc.
Times unfavourable to
the progress of science
The number of sciences is great, and it may be still greater if the
public mind is directed towards them at such times as they are in the
ascendancy and in general favour with
all, when people not only honour
science itself, but also its representatives.
To do this is, in the first instance, the duty of those who rule over
them, of kings and princes. For they alone could free the minds of
scholars from the daily anxieties for the necessities of life, and
stimulate their energies to earn more fame and favour, the yearning
for which is the pith and marrow of human nature.
The present times, however, are not of this kind. They are the very
opposite, and therefore it is quite impossible that a new science or
any new kind of research should arise in our days. What we have of
sciences is nothing but the scanty remains of bygone better times.
If a science or an idea has once conquered the whole earth, every
nation appropriates part of it. So do also the Hindus. Their belief
about the cyclical revolutions of times is nothing very special, but is
simply in accordance with the results .of scientific observation.
The science of astronomy is the most famous among them, since
70
India by AlrBiruni
the affairs of their religion are in various ways connected with it. If a
man wants to gain the title of an
On the Siddhantas astronomer, he must not only know
scientific or mathematical astronomy,
but also astrology. The book known among Muslims as Sindhind 23 is
called by them Siddhanta, i.e. straight , not crooked nor changing. By
this name they call every standard book on astronomy, even such
books as, according to our opinion, do not come up to the mark of
our so called Zij, i.e. handbooks of mathematical astronomy. They
have five Siddhantas:—
I. Surya-siddhanta, i.e. the Siddhanta of the sun, composed by Lata.
II. Vasishtha-siddhanta, so called from one of the stars of the Great
Bear, composed by Vishnucandra.
III. Pulisa-siddhanta, so called from Paulisa, 24 the Greek, from the
city of Saintra, which I suppose to be Alexandria, composed by
Pulisa.
IV. Romaka-siddhanta, so called from the Rum, i.e. the subjects of
the Roman Empire, composed by Srishena.
V. Brahma-siddhanta, so called from Brahman, composed by
Brahmagupta, 25 the son of Jishnu, from the town of Bhillamala
between Multan and Anhilwara, 16 yojana from the latter place (?).
The authors of these books draw from one and the same source,
the book Paithamaha, so called from the first father, i.e. Brahman.
Varahamihira has composed an astronomical handbook of small
compass called Panca-siddhantika, which name ought to mean that it
contains the pith and marrow of the preceding five Siddhantas. But
this is not the case, nor is it so much better than they as to be called
the most correct one of the five. So the name does not indicate
anything but the fact that the number of Siddhantas is five.
... Up to the present time I have not been able to procure any of
these books save those of Pulisa and of Brahmagupta. I have
commenced translating them, but have not yet finished my work.
Meanwhile, I shall give here a table of contents of the Brahma-
siddhanta, which in any case will be useful and instructive.
Contents of the twenty-four chapters of the Brahma-siddhanta:—
1. On the nature of the globe and the figure of heaven and earth.
2. On the revolutions of the planets; on
the calculation of time, i.e. how to find
the time for different longitudes and
latitudes; how to find the mean places of the planets; how to find the
Contents of the
Brahma-siddhanta
Hindu Literature in Other Sciences
71
sine of an arc.
3. On the correction of the places of the planets.
4. On three problems: how to find the shadow, the bygone
portion of the day and the ascendens, and how to derive one from the
other.
5. On the planets becoming visible when they leave the rays of
the sun, and their becoming invisible when entering them.
6. On the first appearance of the moon, and about her two cusps.
7. On the lunar eclipse.
8. On the solar eclipse.
9. On the shadow of the moon.
10. On the meeting and conjunction of the planets.
11. On the latitudes of the planets.
12. A critical investigation for the purpose of distinguishing
between correct and corrupt passages in the texts of astronomical
treatises and handbooks.
13. On arithmetic; on plane measure and cognate subjects.
14. Scientific calculation of the mean places of the planets.
15. Scientific calculation of the correction of the places of the
planets.
16. Scientific calculation of the three problems (v. chap.4).
17. On the deflection of eclipses.
18. Scientific calculation of the appearance of the new moon and
her two cusps.
19. On Kuttaka, i.e. the pounding of a thing. The pounding of oil-
producing substances is here compared with the most minute and
detailed research. This chapter treats of algebra and related subjects,
and besides it contains other valuable remarks of a more or less
arithmetical nature.
20. On the shadow.
21. On the calculation of the measures of poetry and on metrics.
22. On cycles and instruments of observation.
23. On time and the four measures of time, the solar, the civil, the
lunar, and the sidereal
24. About numeral notation in the metrical books of this kind.
These, now, are twenty-four chapters, according to his own
statement, but there is a twenty-fifth one, called Dhyana-graha-
adhyaya, in which he tries to solve the problems by speculation, not
by mathematical calculation. I have not enumerated it in this list,
because the pretensions which he brings forward in this chapter are
India by Al-Biruni
72
repudiated by mathematics. I am rather inclined to think that that
which he produces is meant to be the ratio metaphysica of all
astronomical methods, otherwise how could any problem of this
science be solved by anything save by mathematics?
Such books as do not reach the standard of a Siddhanta are mostly
called Tantra or Karana. The former means ruling under a governor ; the
^ „ latter means following, i.e. following
On the literature of u 0 . ,' . TT ,
Tantras and Karan as Deninu the oiddhanta. Under governors
they understand the Acaryas, i.e. the
sages, anchorites, the followers of Brahman.
There are two famous Tantras by Aryabhata 26 and Balabhadra,
besides the Rasayana-tantra by Bhanuyasas (?). About what Rasayana
means we shall give a separate chapter (chap. xvii).
As for Karanas, there is one ( lacuna ) called by his name, besides
the Karana-khanda-khadyaka by Brahmagupta. The last word, khanda,
means a kind of their sweetmeats. With regard to the reason why he
gave his book this title, I have been told the following:—
Sugriva, the Buddhist, had composed an astronomical handbook
which he called Dadhi-sagara, i.e. the sea of sour-milk; and a pupil of
his composed a book of the same kind which he called Kura-babaya (?)
i.e. a mountain of rice. Afterwards he composed another book which
he called Lavana-mushti, i.e. a handful of salt. Therefore Brahmagupta
called his book the Sweetmeat-khadyaka — in order that all kinds of
victuals (sour-milk, rice, salt, &c.) should occur in the titles of the
books on this science.
The contents of the book Karana-khanda-khadyaka represent the
doctrine of Aryabhata. Therefore Brahmagupta afterwards compos¬
ed a second book, which he called Uttara-khanda-khadyaka, i.e. the
explanation of the Khanda-khadyaka. And this book is again followed
by another one called Khanda-khadyaka-tippa (mc), of which I do not
know whether it is composed by Brahmagupta or somebody else. It
explains the reasons and the nature of the calculations employed in
the Khanda-khadyaka. I suppose it is a work of Balabhadra.
Further, there is an astronomical handbook composed by
Vijayanandin, the commentator, in the city of Benares, entitled
Karana-tilaka, i.e. the blaze on the front of the Karanas; another one
by Vittesvara the son of Bhadatta (? Mihdatta), of the city of
Nagarapura, called Karana-sara, i.e. that which has been derived
from the Karana; another one, by Bhanuyasas (?), is called Karana-
para-tilaka, which shows, as I am told, how the corrected places of
Hindu Literature in Other Sciences
73
the stars are derived from one another.
There is a book by Utpala the Kashmirian called Rahunrakarana
(?), i.e. breaking the Karanas; and another called Karana-pata, i.e.
killing the Karanas. Besides there is a book called Karana-cudamani
of which I do not know the author.
There are more books of the same kind with other titles, e.g. the
great Manasa, composed by Manu, and the commentary by Utpala;
the small Manasa, an epitome of the former by Puncala (?), from the
southern country; Dasagitika, by Aryabhata; Aryashtasata, by the
same; Lokananda, so called from the name of the author, Bhattila (?),
so called from its author, the Brahman Bhattila. The books of this
kind are nearly innumerable.
As for astrological literature, each one of the following authors
has composed a so-called Samhita, viz:—
Mandavya. Balabhadra.
On astrological literature, Parasera. Divyatattva.
the so-called Samhitas Garga. Varahamihira.
Samhita means that which is collected, books containing something of
everything, e.g. forewarnings relating to a journey derived from
meteorological occurrences; prophecies regarding the fate of
dynasties; the knowledge of lucky and unlucky things; prophesying
from the lines of the hand; interpretation of dreams, and taking
auguries from the flight or cries of birds. For Hindu scholars believe
in such things. It is the custom of their astronomers to propound in
their Samhitas also the whole science of meteorology and
cosmology.
Each one of the following authors has composed a book, Jataka,
i.e. book of nativities, viz.:—
Parasara. Jivasarman.
Satya. Mau, the Greek.
Manittha.
Varahamihira has composed two Jatakas, a small and a large one.
The latter of these has been explained by Balabhadra, and the
former I have translated into Arabic ... Of Varatiamihira there are
several small books, e.g. Shat-Pancasika, fifty-six chapters on
astrology; Hora Panca-hotriya (?) on the same subject
Travelling is treated of in the book Yogayatra and the book Tikam
(?) -yatra, marriage and marrying in the book Vivaha-patala, architec¬
ture in the book (lacuna).
The Jatakas, i.e. books
on nativities
74
India by Al-Biruni
The art of taking auguries from the flight or cries of birds, and of
the foretelling by means of piercing a needle into a book, is
propounded in the work called Srudhava (? srotavya ), which exists in
three different copies ...
Medicine belongs to the same class of sciences as astronomy, but
there is this difference, that the latter stands in close relation to the
religion of the Hindus. They have a book
Medical literature called by the name of its author, i.e.
Car aka, 11 which they consider as the
best of their whole literature on medicine. According to their belief,
Caraka was a Rishi in the last Dvapara-yuga, when his name was
Agnivesa, but afterwards he was called Caraka, i.e. the intelligent one,
after the first elements of medicine had been laid down by certain
Rishis, the children of Sutra. These latter had received them from
Indra, Indra from Asvin, one of the two physicians of the Devas, and
Asvin had received them from Prajapati, i.e. Brahman, the first father.
This book has been translated into Arabic for the princes of the
house of the Barmecides. 28
The Hindus cultivate numerous other branches of science and
literature, and have a nearly boundless literature. I, however, could
not comprehend it with my knowledge.
On Pancatantra I wish I could translate the book
Pancatantra, known among us as the
book of Kalila and Dimna. 29 It is far spread in various languages, in
Persian, Hindi, and Arabic—in translations of people who are not
free from the suspicion of having altered the text. For instance,
Abdullah Ibn Almukaffa 30 has added in his Arabic version the
chapter about Barzoya, with the intention of raising doubts in the
minds of people of feeble religious belief, and to gain and prepare
them for the propagation of the doctrines of the Manichaeans. And if
he is open to suspicion insofar as he has added something to the text
which he had simply to translate, he is hardly free from suspicion in
his capacity as translator.
CHAPTER XV
Notes On Hindu Metrology, Intended To
Facilitate The Understanding Of All Kinds
Of Measurements Which Occur In This Book
Counting is innate to man. The measure of a thing becomes known
by its being compared with another thing which belongs to the same
species and is assumed as a unit by
The Hindu system of weights general consent. Thereby the difference
between the object and this standard
becomes known.
By weighing, people determine the amount of gravity of heavy
bodies, when the tongue of the scales stands at right angles on the
horizontal plane. Hindus Want the scales very little, because their
dirhams are determined by number, not by weight, and their fractions,
too, are simply counted as so-and-so many fulus. The coinage of both
dirhams and fulus is different according to towns and districts. They
weigh gold with the scales only when it is in its natural state or such
as has been worked, e.g. for ornaments, but not coined. They use as
a weight of gold the suvama = 1 Vs tola . They use the tola as frequently
as we use the mithkal. According to what I have been able to learn
from them it corresponds to three of our dirhams, of which 10 equal 7
mithkal.
76
India by Al-Biruni
Therefore 1 tola = 2 1/10 of our mithkal
The greatest fraction of a tola is 1 / 12 , called mash a.
Therefore 16 masha = 1 suvama.
Further,
1 masha = 4 andi (eranda), i.e. the seed of a tree called Gaura.
1 andi = 4 yava.
1 yava = 6
1 kala — 4 pada.
1 pada = 4 mdri (?).
.. . Since, the unit of measure is not a natural unit, but a
conventional one assumed by general consent, it admits of both
practical and imaginary division. Its subdivisions or fractions are
different in different places at one and the same time, and at different
periods in one and the same country. Their names, too, are different
according to places and times; changes which are produced either by
the organic development of languages or by accident.
A man from the neighbourhood of Somnath told me that their
mithkal is equal to ours: that
1 mithkal = 8 ruvu; 1 ruvu = 2 pali; 1 pali =16 yava, i.e., barley-corn.
Accordingly, 1 mithkal = 8 ruvu = 16 pali = 256 yava.
[Varahamihira and Caraka are quoted. The scale given by the
former based on the measurements which he prescribes for the
construction of idols, is given. Pp. 162-64.]
The balances with which the Hindus weigh things are charistiones, of
which the weights are immovable, whilst the scales move on certain
marks and lines. Therefore, the balance
The Hindu balance is called tula. The first lines mean the
units of the weight from 1 to 5, and
farther on to 10; the following lines mean the tenths, 10, 20, 30, &c
The Hindus have a weight called bhara , which is mentioned in the
books about the conquest of Sindh. It is equal to 2000 pala; for they
explain it by 100 X 200 pala, and as nearly equal to the weight of an
ox. This is all I have lighted on as regards Hindu weights.
By measuring (with dry measures) people determine the body and
the bulk of a thing, if it fills up a certain measure which has been
gauged as containing a certain quantity
Dry measures of it, it being understood that the way in
which the things are laid out in the
measure, the way in which their surface is determined, and the way
Hindu Metrology
77
in which, on the whole, they are arranged within the measure, are in
every case identical. If two objects which are to be weighed belong to
the same species, they then prove to be equal, not only in bulk, but
also in weight; but if they do not belong to the same species, their
bodily extent is equal, but not their weight.
They have a measure called bisi (? sibi) which is mentioned by
every man from Kanauj and Somnath.
According to the people of Kanauj—4 bisi = 1 prastha, Va bisi = 1
kudava.
According to the people of Somnath—16 bisi = 1 panti, 12 panti =1
moru. . . .
Mensuration is the determination of distances by lines and of
superficies by planes. A plane ought to be measured by part of a
plane, but the mensuration by means of
Measures of distances lines effects the same purpose, as lines
determine the limits of planes.
[Varahamihira is quoted in regard to the units for measuring
distances. These are as follows:]
8 barley-corns put together = 1 angula, i.e. fingt*
4 fingers = 1 rama (?), i.e. the fist.
24 fingers = 1 hattha , i.e. yard, also called dasta.
4 yards = 1 dhanu, i.e. arc = a fathom.
40 arcs = 1 nalva.
25 nalva = 1 krosa.
Hence-it follows that 1 kroh = 4000 yards; and as our mile has just
so many yards, 1 mile = 1 kroh. Pulisa, the Greek, also mentions in
his Siddhanta that 1 kroh = 4000 yards.
The yard is equal to 2 mikyas or 24 fingers; for the Hindus
determine the sanku, i.e. mikyas, by idol-fingers. They do not call the
twelfth part of a mikyas a finger in general, as we do, but their mikyas is
always a span. The span, i.e. the distance between the ends of the
thumb and the small finger at their widest possible stretching, is
called vitasti and also kishku.
The distance between the ends of the fourth or ring-finger and the
thumb, both being stretched out, is called gokama.
The distance between the ends of the index-finger and of the
thumb is called karabha, and is reckoned as equal to two-thirds of a
span.
The distance between the tops of the middle finger and of the
thumb is called tala. The Hindus maintain that the height of a man is
78
India by Al-Biruni
eight times his tala , whether he be tall or small; as people say with
regard to the foot, that it is one-seventh of the height of a man. ...
After the measure of the krosa has been fixed and found to be equal
to our mile , the reader must learn that they have a measure of
distances, called yojana, which is equal to 8 miles or to 32,000 yards.
Perhaps somebody might believe that
Si S 1 kroh is - K f.nakh, and maintain that
the farsakhs of the Hindus are 16,000
yards long. But such is not the case. On the contrary, 1 kroh = Vi
yojana. In the terms of this measure, Alfazari has determined the
circumference of the earth in his astronomical handbook. He calls it
jun , in the plural 'ajwan.
The elements of the calculations of the Hindus on the circum¬
ference of the circle rest on the assumption that it is thrice its diameter.
So the Matsya-Purana says, after it has
mentioned the diameters of the sun and
moon in yojanas: “The circumference is
thrice the diameter.”
[Extracts from the Matsya-Purana , Adilya-Purana and the Vayu-
Purana are quoted. Pp. 168-69.]
Relation between
circumference and diameter
CHAPTER XVI
Notes On The Writing Of The Hindus, On Their
Arithmetic And Related Subjects, And On Certain
Strange Manners And Customs Of Theirs
The tongue communicates the thought of the speaker to the hearer.
Its action has therefore, as it were, a momentary life only, and it
would have been impossible to deliver
On various kinds of b oral trac jition the accounts of the
writing materials J .
events of the past to later generations,
more particularly if they are separated from them by long periods of
time. This has become possible only by a new discovery of the
human mind, by the art of writing, which spreads news over space as
the winds spread, and over time as the spirits of the deceased spread.
Praise therefore be unto Him who has arranged creation and created
everything for the best!
The Hindus are not in the habit of writing on hides, like the
Greeks in ancient times. Socrates, on being asked why he did not
compose books, gave this reply: “I do not transfer knowledge from
the living hearts of men to the dead hides of sheep. Muslims, too,
used in the early times of Islam to write on hides, e.g. the treaty
between the Prophet and the Jews of Khaibar and his letter to Kisra.
The copies of the Koran were written on the hides of gazelles, as are
80
India by Al-Biruni
still nowadays the copies of the Thora. There occurs this passage in
the Koran (Sura vi. 91): “They make it karatis.” i.e. tomaria. The
kirias (or charta) is made in Egypt, being cut out of the papyrus stalk.
Written on this material, the orders of the Khalifs went out into all
the world until shortly before our time. Papyrus has this advantage
over vellum, that you can neither rub out nor change anything on it,
because thereby it would be destroyed. It was in China that paper
was first manufactured. Chinese prisoners introduced the fabrication
of paper into Samarkand, and thereupon it was made in various
places, so as to meet the existing want.
The Hindus have in the south of their country a slender tree like
the date and cocoa-nut palms, bearing edible fruits and leaves of the
length of one yard, and as broad as three fingers one put beside the
other. They call these leaves tari (tala or tar-Borassus Jlabelliformis),
and write on them. They bind a book of these leaves together by a
cord on which they are arranged, the cord going through all the
leaves by a hole in the middle of each.
In Central and Northern India people use the bark of the tuz tree,
one kind of which is used as a cover for bows. It is called bhurja. They
take a piece one yard long and as broad as the outstretched fingers of
the hand, or somewhat less, and prepare it in various ways. They oil
and polish it so as to make it hard and smooth, and then they write on
it. The proper order of the single leaves is marked by numbers. The
whole book is wrapped up in a piece of cloth and fastened between
two tablets of the same size. Such a book is called puthi (cf. pasta,
pustaka). Their letters, and whatever else they have to write, they
write on the bark of the tuz tree.
As to the writing or alphabet of the Hindus, we have already
mentioned that it once had been lo£t and forgotten; that nobody
cared for it, and that in consequence
On the Hindu alphabet people became illiterate, sunken into
gross ignorance, and entirely estranged
from science. But then Vyasa, the son of Parasara, redisovered their
alphabet of fifty letters by an inspiration of God. A letter is called
akshara.
Some people say that originally the number of their letters was
less, and that it increased only by degrees. This is possible, or'I
should even say necessary....
The great number of the letters of the Hindu alphabet is explained,
firstly, by the fact that they express every letter by a separate sign if
Hindu Writing, Arithmetic, Strange Manners and Customs 81
it is followed by a vowel or a diphthong or a hamza (visarga), or a
small extension of the sound beyond the measure of the vowel, and,
secondly, by the fact that they have consonants which are not found
together in any other language, though they may be found scattered
through different languages—sounds of such a nature that our
tongues, not being familiar with them, can scarcely pronounce them,
and that our ears are frequently not able to distinguish between
many a cognate pair of them.
The Hindus write from the left to the right like the Greeks. They
do not write on the basis of a line, above which the heads of the
letters rise whilst their tails go down below, as in Arabic writing. On
the contrary, their ground-line is above, a straight line above every
single character, and from this line the letter hangs down and is
written under it. Any sign above the line is nothing but a grammatical
mark to denote the pronunciation of the character above which it
stands.
The most generally known alphabet is called Siddhamatrika, which
is by some considered as originating from Kashmir, for the people of
Kashmir use it. But it is also used in
On the local alphabets Varanasi. This town and Kashmir are
the high schools of Hindu sciences. The
same writing is used in Madhyadesa, i.e. the middle country, the
country all around Kanauj, which is also called Aryavarta.
In Malava there is another alphabet called Nagara, which differs
from the former only in the shape of the characters.
Next comes an alphabet called Ardhanagari, i.e. half-nagara , so
called because it is compounded of the former two. It is used in
Bhatiya and some parts of Sindh.
Other alphabets are the Malwari, used in Malwashau, in southern
Sind, towards the sea-coast; the Saindhava, used in Bahmanwa or
Almansura; the Karnata, used in Karnatadesa, whence those troops
come which in the armies are known as Kannara; the Andhri, used in
Andhradesa; the Dirwari (Dravidi), used in Dirwaradesa (Dravida-
desa); the Lari, used in Laradesa (Latadesa); the Gauri (Gaudi), used
in Purvadesa, i.e. the Eastern country; the Bhaikshuki, used in
Udunpur 30A in Purvadesa. This last is the writing of Buddha.
The Hindus begin their books with Om, the word of creation, as
we begin with “In the name of God”.
On the word Om The figure of the word Om is
This figure does not consist of letters;
82
India by Al-Biruni
it is simply an image invented to represent this word, which people
use, believing that it will bring them a blessing, and meaning thereby
a confession of the unity of God. .. .
The Hindus do not use the letters of their alphabet for numerical
notation, as we use the Arabic letters in the order of the Hebrew
alphabet. As in different parts of India
On their numeral signs the letters have different shapes, the
numeral signs, too, which are called
(inka, differ. The numeral signs which we use are derived from the
finest forms of the Hindu signs. Signs and figures are of no use if
people do not know what they mean, but the people of Kashmir mark
the single leaves of their books with figures which look like drawings
or like the Chinese characters, the meaning of which can only be
learned by a very long practice. However, they do not use them
when reckoning in the sand.
In arithmetic all nations agree that all the orders of numbers (e.g.
one, ten, hundred, thousand) stand in a certain relation to the ten;
that each order is the tenth part of the following and the ten-fold of
the preceding. I have studied the names of the orders of the numbers
in various languages with all kinds of people with whom I have been
in contact, and have found that no nation goes beyond the thousand.
The Arabs, too, stop with the thousand, which is certainly the most
correct and the most natural thing to do. I have written a separate
treatise on this subject.
Those, however, who go beyond the thousand in their numeral
system are the Hindus, at least in their arithmetical technical terms,
which have been either freely invented or derived according to
certain etymologies, whilst in others both methods are blended
together. They extend the names of the orders of numbers until the
18th order for religious reasons, the mathematicians being assisted by
the grammarians with all kinds of etymologies.
The 18th order is called Parardha, i.e. the half of heaven, or more
accurately, the half of that which is above. . . .
The following are the names of the eighteen orders of numbers:—
1. Ekam 2. Dasam 3. Satarn
The eighteen orders A.Sahasram 5. Ayuta 6. Laksha
of numeration 7 p rayuia g 9. Nyarbuda
10. Padma 11. Kharva 12. Nikharva
13. Mahapadma 14. Sanku 15. Samudra 16. Madhya 17. Antya
18. Parardha.
Hindu Writing, Arithmetic, Strange Manners and Customs 83
I shall now mention some of their differences of opinion relating to
this system.
Some Hindus maintain that there is a 19th order beyond the Parardha,
called Bhuri, and that this is the limit of reckoning. But in reality reckoning is
unlimited; it has only a technical limit,
thTeStw^SSSS* in " which is conventionally adopted as the
last of the orders of numbers. By the
word reckoning in the sentence above they seem to mean nomenclature,
as if they meant to say that the language has no name for any reckon¬
ing beyond the 19th order. It is known that the unit of this order , i.e.
one bhuri, is equal to one-fifth of the greatest day, but on this subject
they have no tradition. In their tradition there are only traces of
combinations of the greatest day, as we shall hereafter explain.
Therefore this 19th order is an addition of an artificial and hyper-
accurate nature.
According to others, the limit of reckoning is koti; and starting
from koti the succession of the orders of numbers would be koti,
thousands, hundreds, tenths; for the number of Devas is expressed in
kotis. According to their belief there are thirty-three kotis of Devas,
eleven of which belong to each of the three beings, Brahman,
Narayana, and Mahadeva.
The names of the orders beyond that of the 18th have been
invented by the grammarians, as we have said already (p. 82).
Further, we observe that the popular name of the 5th order is Dasa
sahasra, that of the 7th order, Dasa laksha; for the two names which we
have mentioned in the list above (Ayuta, Prayuia) are rarely used.
The book of Aryabhatta of Kusumapura gives the following
names of the orders from the ten till 10 koti :—
Ayutam Koti padma
Niyutam Para padma
Prayutam
Furthe/, it is noteworthy that some people establish a kind of
etymological relationship between the different names; so they call
the 6th order Niyuta, according to the analogy of the 5 th, which is
called Ayuta. Further, they call the 8th order Arbuda, according to the
analogy of the 9th, which is called Nyarbuda.
There is a similar relation between Nikharva and Kharva, the names
of the 12th and 11th orders, and between Sanku and Mahasanku, the
names of the 13th and 14th orders. According to this analogy
Mahapadma ought to follow immediately after Padma, but this latter is
r
84
India by Al-Biruni
the name of the 10th, the former the name of the 13th order.
These are differences of theirs which can be traced back to certain
reasons; but besides, there are many differences without any reason,
which simply arise from people dictating these names without
observing any fixed order, or from the fact that they hate to avow
their ignorance by a frank I do not know, —a word which is difficult to
them in any connection whatsoever. ...
The Hindus use the numeral signs in arithmetic in the same way
as we do. I have composed a treatise showing how far, possibly, the
Hindus are ahead of us in this subject.
Numeral notation We have already explained that the
Hindus compose their books in Slokas.
If, now, they wish, in their astronomical handbooks,to express some
numbers of the various orders, they express them by words used to
denote certain numbers either in one order alone or at the same time
in two orders (e.g. a word meaning either 20 or both 20 and 200). For
each number they have appropriated quite a great quantity of words.
Hence, if one word does not suit the metre, you may easily exchange
it for a synonym which suits. Brahmagupta says: “If you want to
write one, express it by everything which is unique, as the earth, the
moon; two by everything which is double, as, e.g. black and white; three
by everything which is threefold; the nbught by heaven, the twelve by
the names of the sun.”
I have united in the following table all the expressions for the
numbers which I used to hear from them; for the knowledge of these
things is most essential for deciphering their astronomical hand¬
books. Whenever I shall come to know all the meanings of these
words, I will add them, if God permits! [The various sets of words
used for the different numbers from 0 to 25 are listed, Pp. 178-79.]
.. . We shall now speak of certain strange manners and customs of
the Hindus. The strangeness of a thing evidently rests on the fact
that it occurs but rarely, and that we
seldom have the opportunity of witness¬
ing it. If such strangeness reaches a high
degree, the thing becomes a curiosity, or even something like a
miracle, which is no longer in accordance with the ordinary laws of
nature, and which seems chimerical as long as it has not been
witnessed. Many Hindu customs differ from those of our country
and of our time to such a degree as to appear to us simply monstrous.
One might almost think that they had intentionally changed them
Strange manners and
customs of the Hindus
„
Hindu Writing, Arithmetic, Strange Manners and Customs 8 ">
into the opposite, for our customs do not resemble theirs, but are the
very reverse; and if ever a custom of theirs resembles one of ours, it
has certainly just the opposite meaning.
They do not cut any of the hair of the body. Originally they went
naked in consequence of the heat, and by not cutting the hair of the
head they intended to prevent sunstroke.
They divide the moustache into single plaits in order to preserve it.
As regards their not cutting the hair of the genitals, they try to make
people believe that the cutting of it incites to lust and increases
carnal desire. Therefore such of them as feel a strong desire for
cohabitation never cut the hair of the genitals.
They let the nails grow long, glorying in their idleness, since they
do not use them for any business or work, but only, while living a
dolce far niente life, they scratch their heads with them and examine
the hair for lice. < -
The Hindus eat singly, one by one, on a tablecloth of dung. They
do not make use of the remainder of a meal, and the plates from
which they have eaten are thrown away if they are earthen.
They have red teeth in consequence of chewing arecanuts with
betel-leaves and chalk.
They drink wine before having eaten anything, then they take their
meal. They sip the stall of cows, but they do not eat their meat.
They beat the cymbals with a stick.
They use turbans for trousers. Those who want little dress are
content to dress in a rag of two fingers’ breadth, which they bind over
their loins with two cords; but those who like much dress, wear
trousers lined with so much cotton as would suffice to make a
number of counterpanes and saddle-rugs. These trousers have no
(visible) openings, and they are so huge that the feet are not visible.
The string by which the trousers are fastened is at the back.
Their sidar (a piece of dress covering the head and the upper part
of breast and neck) is similar to the trousers, being also fastened at
the back by buttons.
The lappets of the Kurtakas (short shirts from the shoulders to the
middle of the body with sleeves, a female dress) have slashes both on
the right and left sides.
They keep the shoes tight till they begin to put them on. They are
turned down from the calf before walking (?).
In washing they begin with the feet, and then wash the face. They
wash themselves before cohabiting with their wives....
86 India by Al-Biruni
On festive days they besmear their bodies with dung instead of
perfumes.
The men wear articles of female dress; they use cosmetics, wear
earrings, arm-rings, golden seal-rings on the ring-finger as well as on
the toes of the feet....
They ride without a saddle, but if they put on a saddle, they mount
the horse from its right side. In travelling they like to have somebody
riding behind them.
They fasten the kuthara , i.e. the dagger, at the waist on the right
side.
They wear a girdle called Yajnopavita, passing from the left
shoulder to the right side of the waist.
In all consultations and emergencies they take the advice of the
women.
When a child is bom people show particular attention to the man,
not to the woman.
Of two children they give the preference to the younger,
particularly in the eastern parts of the country; for they maintain that
the elder owes his birth to predominant lust, whilst the younger owes
his origin to mature reflection and a calm proceeding.
In shaking hands they grasp the hand of a man from the convex
side.
They do not ask permission to enter a house, but when they leave
it they ask permission to do so.
In their meetings they sit cross-legged.
They spit out and blow their noses without any respect for the
elder ones present, and they crack their lice before them. They
consider the crepitus ventris as a good omen, sneezing as a bad omen.
They consider as unclean the weaver, but as clean the cupper and
the flayer, who kills dying animals for money either by drowning or
by burning.
They use black tablets for the children in the schools, and write
upon them along the long side, not the broad side, writing with a
white material from the left to the right. One would think that the
author of the following verses had meant the Hindus:—
“How many a writer uses paper as black as charcoal,
Whilst his pen writes on it with white colour.
By writing he places a bright day in a dark night,
Weaving like a weaver, but without adding a woof.”
They write the title of a book at the end of it, not at the beginning.
Hindu Writing, Arithmetic, Strange Manners and Customs 87
They magnify the nouns of their language by giving them the
feminine gender, as the Arabs magnify them by the diminutive form.
If one of them hands over a thing to another, he expects that it
should be thrown to him as we throw a thing to the dogs.
If two men play at Nard (backgammon), a third one throws the
dice between them.
They like the juice which flows over the cheeks of the rutting
elephant, which in reality has the most horrid smell.
In playing chess they move the elephant straight on, not to the
other sides, one square at a time, like the pawn, and to the four
comers also one square at time, like the
On the Indian chesc queen ( firzan ). They say that these five
squares (i.e. the one straight forward
and the others at the comers) are the places occupied by the trunk
and the four feet of the elephant.
They play chess—four persons at a time—with a pair of dice.
Their arrangement of the figures on the chess-board is the
following:—
Tower
Horse
Elephant
King
i
I
Pawn
1
Tower
(rukh) 1
Pawn
Pawn
Pawn
Pawn
Pawn
Horse
Pawn
Elephant
Pawn
King
King
Pawn
Elephant
Pawn
Horse
Pawn
Pawn
Pawn
Pawn
Pawn
Tower
Pawn
King
Elephant
Horse
Tower
As this kind of chess is not among us, I shall here explain what
I know of it.
The four persons playing together sit so as to form a square round
a chess-board, and throw the two dice alternately. Of the numbers of
the dice the five and six are blank (i.e. do not count as such). In that
case, if the dice shows five or six, the player takes one instead of the
five, and four instead of the six, because the figures of these two
numerals are drawn in the following manner—
6 5
4 3 2 1
so as to exhibit a certain likeness of form to 4 and 1, viz. in the Indian
signs.
88
India by Al-Biruni
The name Shah or king applies here to the queen (firzan ).
Each number of the dice causes a move of one of the figures.
The 1 moves either the pawn or the king. Their moves are the
same as in the common chess. The king may be taken, but is not
required to leave his place.
The 2 moves the tower ( rukh ). It moves to the third square in the
direction of the diagonal, as the elephant moves in our chess.
The 3 moves the horse. Its move is the generally known one to the
third square in oblique direction.
The 4 moves the elphant. It moves in a straight line, as the tower
does in our chess, unless it be prevented from moving on. If this is
the case, as sometimes happens, one of the dice removes the
obstacle, and enables it to move on. Its smallest move is one square,
the greatest fifteen squares, because the dice sometimes show two 4,
or two 6, or a 4 and a 6. In consequence of one of these numbers, the
elephant moves along the whole side of the margin on the chess¬
board; in consequence of the other number, it moves along the other
side on the other margin of the board, in case there is no impediment
in its way. In consequence of these two numbers, the elephant, in the
course of his moves, occupies the two ends of the diagonal.
The pieces have certain values, according to which the player gets
his share of the stake, for the pieces are taken and pass into the hands
of the player. The value of the king is 5, that of the elephant 4, of the
horse 3, of the tower 2, and of the pawn 1. He who takes a king gets
5. For two kings he gets 10, for three kings 15, if the winner is no
longer in possession of his own king. But if he has still his own king,
and takes all three kings, he gets 54, a number which represents a
progression based on general consent, not on an algebraic principle.
[Al-Biruni concludes this account of the Hindu manners and
customs by remarking that the Hindus claimed to be different from
the Muslims and to be ‘something better’ than them, but adds that
this attitude of self-adulation was adopted by the Muslims too. In the
context of the ‘strange’ manners and customs of the Hindus he also
recalls some of the immoral practices prevalent among the Arabs
before the rise of Islam. He expresses satisfaction over the fact that
with the rise of Islam these evils had been abolished in Arabia and
‘those parts of India the people of which have become Muhamma¬
dans.’ Pp. 185-86.]
CHAPTER XVII
On Hindu Sciences Which Prey On The
Ignorance Of People
We understand by witchcraft, making by some kind of delusion a
thing appear to the senses as something different from what it is in
reality. Taken in this sense, it is far
Hind a i C s h in m ger r a" 8 s P read amon S P eo P le - Understood,
however, as common people understand
it, as the producing of something which is impossible, it is a thing
which does not lie within the limits of reality. For as that which is
impossible cannot be produced, the whole affair is nothing but a
gross deception. Therefore witchcraft in this sense has nothing
whatever to do with science.
One of the species of witchcraft is alchemy, though it is generally
not called by this name. But if a man takes a bit of cotton and makes
it appear as a bit of gold, what would you call this but a piece of
witchcraft? It is quite the same as if he were to take a bit of silver and
make it appear as gold, only with this difference, that the latter is a
generally-known process, i.e* the gilding of silver, the former is not.
The Hindus do not pay particular attention to alchemy, but no
nation is entirely free from it, and one nation has more bias for it
than another, which must not be construed as proving intelligence or
90
India by Al-Biruni
ignorance; for we find that many intelligent people are entirely given
to alchemy, whilst ignorant people ridicule the art and its adepts.
Those intelligent people, though boisterously exulting over their
make-believe science, are not to be blamed for occupying them¬
selves with alchemy, for their motive is simply excessive eagerness
for acquiring fortune and for avoiding misfortune. Once a sage was
asked why scholars always flock to the doors of the rich, whilst the
rich are not inclined to call at the doors of scholars. “The scholars,
he answered, “are well aware of the use of money, but the rich are
ignorant of the nobility of science.” On the other hand, ignorant
people are not to be praised, although they behave quite quietly,
simply because they abstain from alchemy, for their motives are
objectionable ones, rather practical results of innate ignorance and
stupidity than anything else.
The adepts in this art try to keep it concealed, and shrink back
from intercourse with those who do not belong to them. Therefore I
have not been able to learn from the Hindus which methods they
follow in this science, and what element they principally use,
whether a mineral or an animal or a vegetabe one. I only heard them
speaking of the process of sublimation, of calcination, of analysis, and of
the waxing of talc, which they call in their language talaka, and so I
guess that they incline towards the mineralogical method of
alchemy.
They have a science similar to alchemy which is quite peculiar to
them. They call it Rasayana, a word composed with rasa, i.e. gold. It
means an art which is restricted to
The science of Rasayana certain operations, drugs, and com¬
pound medicines, most of which are
taken from plants. Its principles restore the health of those who were
ill beyond hope, and give back youth to fading old age, so that people
become again what they were in the age near puberty; white hair
become black again, the keenness of the senses is restored as well as
the capacity for juvenile agility, and even for cohabitation, and the
life of people in this world is even extended to a long period.
[Incredulous stories about some adepts in the ‘science of
Rasayana’, such as Nagaijuna of the ‘fort Dihak near Somnath’,
Vyadi who lived in Ujjain during the reign of Vikramaditya, an
unnamed person who lived in Dhar, capital of Malwa, and an
indigent fruit-seller called Ranka and King Vallabha of the city of
Vallabhi are mentioned. Some of them had accidentally discovered
Sciences Which Prey on People's Ignorance
91
the secret formula and acquired supernatural powers as a result of
it. Others had met with tragic ends. Pp. 189-93.]
The greediness of the ignorant Hindu princes for gold-making
does not know any limit. If any one of them wanted to carry out a
scheme of gold-making, and people advised him to kill a number of
fine little children, the monster would not refrain from such a crime;
he would throw them into the fire. If this precious science of
Rasayana were banished to the utmost limits of the world, where it is
unattainable to anybody, it would be the best. . . .
As regards charms and incantations, the Hindus have a firm belief
in them, and they, as a rule, are much
On the bird Garuda inclined towards them. The book which
treats of those things is considered
as a work of Garuda, a bird on which Narayana rode. ...
Most of their charms are intended for those who have been bitten
by serpents.
In"he^bUe^ftennis l Some stories about the effectiveness
of charms are mentioned. P. 194.]
I myself have witnessed that in hunting gazelles they caught them
with the hand. One Hindu even went so far as to assert that he,
without catching the gazelle, would
drive it before him and lead it straight
into the kitchen. This, however, rests,
as I believe I have found out, simply on the device of slowly and
constantly accustoming the animals to one and the same melody....
The shooters of Kata-birds have a custom of beating copper-
vessels during the night with one and the same kind of beat, and they
manage to catch them with the hand. If, however, the beat is
changed, the birds fly off in all directions.
All these things are peculiar customs which have nothing
whatsoever to do with charms. Sometimes the Hindus are con¬
sidered as sorcerers because of their playing with balls on raised
beams or on tight ropes, but tricks of this kind are common to all
nations.
Hunting practices
CHAPTER XVIII
Various Notes On Their Country, Their Rivers,
And Their Ocean. Itineraries Of The Distances
Between Their Several Kingdoms, And Between
The Boundaries Of Their Country
The inhabitable world
and the ocean
The reader is to imagine the inhabitable world, he oikoumene, as lying
in the northern half of the earth, apd more accurately in one-half of
this half—i.e. in one of the quarters.of
the earth. It is surrounded by a sea,
which both in west and east is called the
comprehending one; the Greeks call its western part near their country
okeanos. This sea separates the inhabitable world from whatever
continents or inhabitable islands there may be beyond it, both
towards west and east; for it is not navigable on account of the
darkness of the air and the thickness of the water, because there is no
more any road to be traced, and because the risk is enormous, whilst
the profit is nothing. Therefore people of olden times have fixed
marks both on the sea and its shores which are intended to deter from
entering it.
The inhabitable world does not reach the north on account of the
cold, except in certain places where it penetrates into the north in the
Their Country, Rivers and Ocean
93
shape, as it were, of tongues and bays. In the south it reaches as far
as the coast of the ocean, which in west and east is connected with the
comprehending ocean This southern ocean is navigable. It does not
form the utmost southern limit of the inhabitable world. On the
contrary, the latter stretches still more southward in the shape of
large and small islands which fill the ocean. In this southern region
land and water dispute with each other their position, so that in one
place the continent protrudes into the sea, whilst in another the sea
penetrates deeply into the continent.
The continent protrudes far into the sea in the western half of the
earth, and extends its shores far into the south. On the plains of this
continent live the western Negroes, whence the slaves are brought;
and there are the Mountains of the Moon, and on them are sources of
the Nile. On its coast, and the islands before the coast, live the
various tribes of the Zanj. There are several bays or gulfs which
penetrate into the continent on this western half of the earth—the
bay of Berbera, that of Klysma (the Red Sea), and that of Persia (the
Persian Gulf); and between these gulfs the western continent
protrudes more or less into the ocean.
In the eastern half of the earth the sea penetfates as deeply into the
northern continent as the continent in the western half protrudes into
the southern sea, and in many places it has formed bays and
estuaries which run far into the continent—bays being parts of the
sea, estuaries being the outlets of rivers towards the sea. This sea is
mostly called from some island in it or from the coast which borders
it. Here, however, we are concerned only with that part of the sea
which is bordered by the continent of India, and therefore is called
the Indian Ocean.
As to the orographic configuration of the inhabitable world,
imagine a range of towering mountains like the vertebrae of a pine
stretching through the middle latitude of
the earth, and in longitude from east to
west, passing through China, Tibet, the
The orographic system
of Asia and Europe
country of the Turks, Kabul, Badhakhshan, Tokharistan, Bamiyan
Elghor, Khurasan, Media, Adharbaijan, Armenia, the Roman
Empire, the country of the Franks, and of the Jalalika (Gallicians).
Long as this range is, it has also a considerable breadth, and,
besides, many windings which enclose inhabited plains watered by
streams which descend from the mountains both towards north and
south. One of these plains is India, limited in the south by the above
94
India by Al-Biruni
mentioned Indian Ocean, and on all three other sides by the lofty
mountains, the waters of which flow down to it. But if you have seen
the soil of India with your own eyes and meditate on its nature if
vou consider the rounded stones found in the earth however deeply
you dig, stones that are huge near the
mountains and where the rivers have a
violent current; stones that are of
India, a recent alluvial
formation
smaller size at greater distance from the mountains, and where the
streams flow more slowly; stones that appear pulverised in the shape
of sand where the streams begin to stagnate near their mouths and
near the sea—if you consider all this, you could scarcely help
thinking that India has once been a sea which by degrees has been
filled up by the alluvium of the streams.
The middle of India is the country round Kanoj (Kanauj), which
they call Madhyadesa, i.e. the middle of the realms. It is the middle or
centre from a geographical point of
view, insofar as it lies half way between
the sea and the mountains, in the midst
between the hot and the cold provinces.
First orientation regarding
Madhyadesa, Kanoj,
Mahura, and Taneshar
and also between the eastern and western frontiers of India. But it is
a political centre too, because in former times it was the residence of
their most famous heroes and kings.
The country of Sindh lies to the west of Kanoj. In marching from
our country to Sindh we start from the country of Nimroz, i.e. the
country of Sijistan, whilst marching to Hind or India proper we start
from the side of Kabul. This, howevei, is not the only possible road.
You may march into India from all sides, supposing that you can
remove the obstacles in the way. In the mountains which form the
frontier of India towards the west there are tribes of the Hindus, or of
people near akin to them—rebellious savage races—which extend as
far as the farthermost frontiers of the Hindu race.
Kanoj lies to the west of the Ganges, a very large town, but most
of it is now in ruins .and desolate since the capital has been
transferred thence to the city of Bari 31 , east of the Ganges. Between
the two towns there is a distance of three to four days’ marches.
As Kanoj (Kanyakubja) has become famous by the children of
Pandu, the city of Mahura (Mathura) has become famous by
Vasudeva. It lies east of the river Jaun (Yamuna). The distance
between Mahura and Kanoj is 28 farsakhr .
Taneshar (Sthanesvara) lies between the two rivers to the north
Their Country, Rivers and Ocean
95
Hindu method of
determining distances
both of Kanoj and Mahura, at a distance of nearly 80 farsakh from
Kanoj, and nearly 50 farsakh from Mahura.
The river Ganges rises in the mountains which have already been
mentioned. Its source is called Ganga-dvara. Most of the other rivers
of the country also rise in the same mountains, as we have already
mentioned in the proper place.
As for the distances between the various parts of India, those who
have not themselves actually seen them must rely upon tradition; but
unfortunately it is of such a nature that
already Ptolemy incessantly complains
of its transmitters and their bias towards
story-telling. Fortunately I have found out a certain rule by which to
control their lies. The Hindus frequently estimate the burden an ox
could bear at 2000 and 3000 mana (which is infinitely more than an
ox could carry at once). In consequence they are compelled to let the
caravan make the same march to and fro during many days—in fact,
so long until the ox has carried the whole load assigned to it from one
end of the route to the other, and then they reckon as the distance
between the two places a march of such a number of days as the caravan
has altogether spent in marching to and fro. It is only with the
greatest exertion and caution that we can to some extent correct the
statements of the Hindus. However, we could not make up our mind
to suppress that which we know on account of that which we do not
know. We ask the readers’s pardon where there is anything wrong,
and now we continue.
A man marching from Kanoj to the south between the two rivers
Jaun and Ganges passes the following well known places:— Jajja-
mau, 12 farsakh from Kanoj, each farsakh
Pra™aga TAilihabLd) T and ° f ^ e ^ Ual to four mi,es or one kumh ^
to the eastern coast Abhapuri, 8 farsakh; Kuraha, 8 farsakh;
Barhamshil, 8 farsakh ; the Tree of Prayaga,
12 farsakh, the place where the water of the Jaun joins the Ganges,
where the Hindus torment themselves with various kinds of tortures,
which are described in the books about religious sects. The distance
from Prayaga to the place where the Ganges flows into the sea is 12
farsakh (sic).
Other tracts of country extend from the Tree of Prayaga south¬
ward towards the coast. Arku-tirtha, 12 farsakh from Prayaga; the
realm Uwaryahar ; 40 farsakh; Urdabishau on the coast, 50 farsakh.
Thence along the coast towards the east there are countries which
96
India by Al-Biruni
are now under the sway of Jaur; first Daraur, 40 farsakh from
Urdabishau; Kanji, 30 farsakh; Malaya, 40 farsakh; Kunk, 30 farsakh,
which is the last of Jaur’s possessions in this direction.
Marching from Bari along the Ganges on its eastern side, you pass
the following stations:— Ajodaha
From Bari to the (Avodhya, Oudh), 25 farsakh from Bari;
mouth of the Ganges \ r „ f
the famous Banarasi, 20 Jarsakh.
Thence changing the direction, and marching eastward instead of
southward, you come to Sharwar, 35 farsakh from Banarasi; Patali-
butra, 20 farsakh; Mungiri, 15 farsakh; Janpa, 30 farsakh; Dugumpur, 50
farsakh; Gangasayara, 30 farsakh, where the Ganges flows into the
sea
Marching from Kanoj towards the east, you come to Ban, 10
farsakh; Dugum, 45 farsakh; the empire of Shilahat, \0farsakh; the town
• ‘ Bihat, \2 farsakh. Farther on the country
Kanoj through Nepal the right is called Tilwat, the
to Bhoteshar inhabitants Tarn, people of very black
colour and flat-nosed like the Turks. Thence you come to the
mountains of Kamru, which stretch away as far as the sea.
Opposite Tilwat the country to the left is the realm of Naipal. A
man who had travelled in those countries gave me the following
report:—“When in Tanwat, he left the easterly direction and turned
to the left. He marched to Naipal, a distance of 20 farsakh, most ot
which was ascending country. From Naipal he came to Bhoteshar in
thirty days, a distance of nearly 80 farsakh, in which there is more
ascending than descending country. And there is a water which is
several times crossed on bridges consisting of planks tied with cords
to two canes, which stretch from rock to rock, and are fastened to
milestones constructed on either side. People carry the burdens on
their shoulders over such a bridge, whilst below, at a depth ot 100
yards, the water foams as white as snow, threatening to shatter the
rocks. On the other side of the bridges, the burdens are transported
on the back of goats. ...”
“Bhoteshar is the first frontier of Tibet. There the language
changes as well as the costumes and the anthropological character o
the people. Thence the distance to the top of the highest pea: is 20
farsakh From the height of this mountain, India appears as a black
expanse below the mist, the mountains lying below this peak like
small hills, and Tibet and China appear as red. The descent towards
Tibet and China is less than one farsakh" •
Their Country, Rivers and Ocean
97
Marching from Kanoj towards the south-east, on the western side
of the Ganges, you come to the realm of Jajahuti, 30 farsakh from
Kanoj. The capital of the country is
From Kanoj to Banavas Kajuraha. Between this town and Kanoj
there are two of the most famous fort¬
resses of India, Gwaliyar (Gwalior) and Kalanjar. Dahala [—farsakh],
a country the capital of which is Tiauri, and the ruler of which is now
Gangeya.
The realm of Kannakara, 20 farsakh, Apsur, Banavas, on the seacoast.
Marching from Kanoj towards the south-west, you come to A si, 18
farsakh from Kanoj; Sahanya, 17 farsakh; Jandra, 18 farsakh; Rajauri, 15
farsakh; Bazana, the capital of Guzarat,
From Kanoj to Bazana 20 farsakh This town is called Narayan
by our people. After it had fallen ipto
decay the inhabitants migrated to another place called Jadura (?)
The distance between Mahura and Kanoj is the same as that
between Kanoj and Bazana, viz. 28 farsakh If a man travels from
Mahura to Ujain, he passes through
From Mahura to Dhar villages which are only five farsakh and
less distant from each other. At the end
of a march of 35 farsakh, he comes to a large village called Dudahi;
thence to Bamahur, 17 farsakh from Dudahi; Bhailsan,5 farsakh a place
most famous among the Hindus. The name of the town is identical
with that of the idol worshipped there. Thence to Ardin, 9 farsakh The
idol worshipped there is called Mahakala. DharJ farsakh
Marching from Bazana southward, you come to Maiwar, 25 farsakh
from Bazana. This is a kingdom the capital of which is Jattaraur.
From this town to Malava and its
From Bazana to Mandagir capital, Dhar, the distance is 20 farsakh
The city of Ujain lies 7 farsakh to the
east of Dhar.
From Ujain to Bhailasan, which likewise belongs to Malava, the
distance is 10 farsakh
Marching from Dhar southward, you come to Bhumihara, 20
farsakh from Dhar; Kand, 20 farsakh; Namavur, on the banks of the
Narmada (Nerbudda), 10 farsakh Alispur, 20 farsakh; Mandagir, on the
banks of the river Godavar, 60 farsakh
Again marching from Dhar southward, you come to the valley of
Namiyya, 1 farsakh from Dhar; Mahratta-
Desh, 18 farsakh; the province of Kunkan,
From Dhar to Tana
98
India by Al-Biruni
and its capital, Tana, on the sea-coast, 25 farsakh. ...
The ganda exists in large numbers in India, more particularly
about the Ganges. It is of the build of a buffalo, has a black scaly
skin, and dewlaps hanging down under
Notes about various c hj n it has three yellow hoofs on
animals of India each f oot> the biggest one forward, the
others on both sides. The tail is not long; the eyes lie low, farther
down the cheek than is the case with all other animals. On the top of
the nose there is a single horn which is bent upwards. The Brahmins
have the privilege of eating the flesh of the ganda. I have myself
witnessed how an elephant coming across a young ganda was
attacked by it. The ganda wounded with its horn a forefoot of the
elephant, and threw it down on its face.
I thought that the ganda was the rhinoceros (or karkadann), but a
man who had visited Sufala, in the country of the Negroes, told me
that the kark, which the Negroes call impila, the horn of which
furnishes the material for the handles of our knives, comes nearer
this description than the rhinoceros.
There are crocodiles in the rivers of India as in the Nile, a fact
which led simple Aljahiz, in his ignorance of the courses of the rivers
and the configuration of the ocean, to think that the river of Muhran
(the river Sindh) was a branch of the Nile. Besides, there are other
marvellous animals in the rivers of India of the crocodile tribe,
makara, curious kinds of fishes, and an animal like a leather-bag,
which appears to the ships and plays in swimming. It is called burn
(porpoise ?). I suppose it to be the dolphin or a kind of dolphin.
People say that it has a hole on the head for taking breath like the
dolphin. ...
After this digression we return to our subject.
Marching from Bazana towards the
From Bazana to Somanath south-west, you come to Anhilvara, 60
farsakh from Bazana; Somanath, on the
sea-coast, 50 farsakh. .
Marching from Anhilvara southward, you come to Lardesh, to tne
two capitals of the country, Bihroj and Rihanjur, 42 farsakh from
Anhilvara. Both are on the sea-coast to the east of Tana.
Marching from Bazana towards the
From Anhilvara to Loharani west, you come to Multan, 50 farsakh
from Bazana; Bhati, 15 farsakh
Marching from Bhati towards the south-west, you come to Am
Their Country, Rivers and Ocean
99
15 farsakh from Bhati, a township between two arms of the Sindh
river; Bamhanwa Almansura , 20 farsakh; Loharani, at the mouth of the
Sindh river, 30 farsakh.
Marching from Kanoj towards the north-north-west, you come to
Shirsharaha, 50 farsakh from Kanoj; Pinjaur ; 18 farsakh, situated on
the mountains, whilst opposite it in the
From Kanoj to Kashmir plain there lies the city of Taneshar;
Dahmala, the capital of Jalandhar, at the
foot of the mountains, 18 farsakh; Ballawar, 10 farsakh; thence march¬
ing westward* you come to Ladda, 13 farsakh; the fortress Rajagiri,
8 farsakh; thence marching northward, you come to Kashmir, 25
farsakh.
Marching from Kanoj towards the west, you come to Diyamau,
10 farsakh from Kanoj; Kuti, 10 farsakh; Anar, 10 farsakh; Mirat, 10
farsakh; Panipat, 10 farsakh. Between the
From Kanoj to Ghazna latter two places flows the river Jaun;
Kawital 10 farsakh; Sunnam, 10 farsakh
Thence marching towards the north-west, you come to Adittahaur, 9
farsakh; Jajjanir, 6 farsakh; Mandahukur, the capital of Lauhawur, easit
of the river Irawa, 8 farsakh; the river Candraha, 12 farsakh; the river
Jailam, west of the river Biyatta, 8 farsakh; Waihind, the capital of
Kandhar, west of the river Sindh, 20 farsakh; Purshawar, 14 farsakh;
Dunpur, 15 farsakh; Kabul, 12 farsakh; Ghazna, 17 farsakh.
Kashmir lies on a plateau surrounded by high inaccessible
mountains. The south and east of the country belongs to the Hindus,
the west to various kings, the Bolar-
Notes about Kashmir Shah and the Shugnan-Shah and the
more remote parts up to the frontiers of
Badhakhshan, to the Wakhan-Shah. The north and part of the east of
the country belong to the Turks of Khoten and Tibet. The distance
from the peak of Bhoteshar to Kashmir through Tibet amounts to
nearly 300 farsakh .
The inhabitants of Kashmir are pedestrians, they have no riding
animals nor elephants. The noble among them ride in palankins
called hatt , carried on the shoulders of men. They are particularly
anxious about the natural strength of their country, and therefore
take always much care to keep a strong hold upon the entrances and
roads leading into it. In consequence, it is very difficult to have any
commerce wifh them. In former times they used to allow one or two
foreigners to enter their country, particularly Jews, but at present
100
India by Al-Biruni
they do not allow any Hindu whom they do not know personally to
enter, much less other people.
.... The city of Kashmir covers a space of four farsakh being built
along both banks of the river Jailam, which are connected with each
other by bridges and ferry-boats. The Jailam rises in the mountains
Haramakot, where also the Ganges rises, cold, impenetrable regions
where the snow never melts nor disappears. Behind them there is
Mahacin, i.e. Great China. ...
This is the frontier of India from the north.
In the western frontier mountains of India there live various tribes
of the Afghans, and extend up to the neighbourhood of the Sindh
Valley.
The southern frontier of India is formed by the ocean. The coast of
India begins with Tiz, the capital of Makran, and extends thence in a
south-eastern direction towards the
region of Al-daibal, over a distance of
40 farsakh. Between the two places lies
The western and southern
frontiers of India
the Gulf of Turan. ...
After the above-mentioned gulf follow the small Munha, the great
Munha, then the Bawarij, i.e. the pirates of Kacch and Somariath.
They are thus called because they commit their robberies on sea in
ships called bira. The places on the coast are:— Tawalleshar, 50
farsakh from Daibal; Loharani, 12 farsakh; Baga, 12 farsakh; Kacch,
where the mukl- tree grows, and Baroi, 6 farsakh; Somanath, \d farsakh;
Kanbayat, 30 farsakh; Asawil, 2 days; Bihroj, 30 farsakh (?); Sandan, 50
farsakh; Subara, 6 farsakh; Tana, 5 farsakh
Thence the coast-line comes to the country Laran, in which lies tne
city oijimur, then to Vallabha, Kanji, Darvad. Next follows a great bay
in which Singaldib lies, i.e. the island Sarandib (Ceylon). Round the
bay lies the city of Panjayavar (sic). When this city had fallen into
ruins, the king, Jaur, built instead of it, on the coast towards the west,
a new city which he called Padnar.
The next place on the coast is Ummalnara, then Ramsher
(Rameshar?) opposite Sarandib; the distance of the sea between
them is 12 farsakh. The distance from Panjayavar to Ramsher is 40
farsakh, that between Ramsher and Setubandha 2 farsakh Setubandha
means bridge of the ocean. It is the dike of Rama, the son of Dasaratha,
which he built from the continent to the castle Lanka. At present it
consists of isolated mountains between which the ocean flows.
Sixteen farsakh from Setubandha towards the east is Kihkind. the
Their Country, Rivers and Ocean
101
mountains of the monkeys. Every day the king of monkeys comes
out of the thicket together with his hosts, and settles down in
particular seats prepared for them. The inhabitants of that region
prepare for them cooked rice, and bring it to them on leaves. After
having eaten it they return into the thicket, but in case they are
neglected, this would be the ruin of the country, as they are not only
numerous but also savage and aggressive. According to the popular
belief, they are a race of men changed into monkeys on account of
the help which they had afforded to Rama when making war against
the demons; he is believed to have bequeathed those villages to them
as a legacy. When a man happens to fall in with them, and he
recites to them the poetry of Rama.and pronounces the incantations
of Rama, they will quietly listen to him; they will even lead on the
right path him who has gone astray and give him meat and drink. At
all events, thus the matter stands according to popular belief.
The eastern islands in this ocean, which are nearer to China than
to India, are the islands of the Zabaj, called by the Hindus Suvama-
dvipa, i.e. the gold islands. The western
Isl ^l in t ^ e e * n ^' ari islands in this ocean are ■ those of the
Zanj (Negroes), and those in the middle
are the islands Ramm and the Diva islands (Malediva, Laccadiva), to
which belong also the Kumair islands. It is peculiar to the Diva
islands that they rise slowly; first there appears a sandy tract above
the surface of the ocean; it rises more and more and extends in all
directions, till at last it becomes a firm soil, whilst at the same time
another island falls into decay and melts away, finally is submerged
and disappears in the ocean. As soon as the inhabitants become
aware of this process, they search for a new island of increasing
fertility, transport there their cocoanut palms, date palms, cereals,
and household goods, and emigrate to it. These islands are,
according to their products, divided into two classes, the Diva-kudha,
i.e. the Diva of the kauri-shells, because there they gather kauri-
shells from the branches of the cocoanut palms which they plant in
the sea, and Divakanbar, i.e. the Diva of the cords twisted from
cocoanut fibres, and used for fastening together the planks of the
ships.
... In former times there were pearl-banks in the bay of Sarandib
(Ceylon), but at present they have been abandoned. Since the
Sarandib pearls have disappeared, other pearls have been found at
Sufala in the country of the Zanj, so that people say the pearls of
102
India by Al-Biruni
Sarandib have migrated to Sufala.
India has the tropical rains in summer, which is called varshakala,
and these rains are the more copious and last the longer the more
northward the situation of a province of
On the rainfall in India • India is, and the less it is intersected by
ranges of mountains. The people of
Multan used to tell me that they have no varshakala, but the more
northern provinces nearer the mountains have the varshakala. In
Bhatal and Indravedi it begins with the month of Ashadha, and it
rains continually for four months as though water-buckets were
poured out. In provinces still farther northward, round the mountains
of Kashmir up to the peak of Judari between Dunpur and Barshawar,
copious rain falls during two and a half months, beginning with the
month Sravana. However, on the other side of this peak there is no
« rainfall; for the clouds in the north are very heavy, and do not rise
much above the surface. When, then, they reach the mountains, the
mountain-sides strike against them, and the clouds are pressed like
olives or grapes, in consequence of which the rain pours down, and
the clouds never pass beyond the mountains. Therefore, Kashmir
has no varshakala^ but continual snowfall during two and a half
months, beginning with Magha, and shortly after the middle of
Caitra continual rain sets in for a few days, melting the snow and
cleansing the earth. This rule seldom has an exception; however,
certain amount of extraordinary meteorological occurrences is
peculiar to every province of India.
CHAPTER XIX
On The Names Of The Planets, The Signs Of
The Zodiac, The Lunar Stations, And Related
Subjects
We have already mentioned, near the beginning of the book that the
language of the Hindus is extremely rich in nouns, both original and
derivative, so that in some instances they call one thing by a
multitude of different names. So I have heard them saying that they
have a thousand names all meaning sun; and no doubt, each planet
has quite as many, or nearly as many names, since they could not do
with less (for the purposes of versification).
The names of the week-days are the best known names of the
planets connected with the word barn, which follows after the
planet’s name, as in Persian the word
The names of the shambih follows after the number of the
week-day ( dushambih, sihshambih, & c.).
So tney say:
Aditya barn, i.e. Sunday. Brihaspati barn, i.e. Thursday.
Soma barn i.e. Monday. Sukra barn, i.e. Friday.
Manga la bara, i.e. Tuesday. Sanaiscara barn, i.e. Saturday.
Budha bara, i.e. Wednesday.
And thus they go on counting, beginning anew with Sunday,
104
India by Al-Biruni
Monday, & c. ...
It is a custom of the Hindus to enumerate the planets in the order
of the week-days. They will persist in using it in their astronomical
handbooks, as well as in other books, and they decline to use any
other order, though it be much more correct.
The Greeks mark the planets with figures, to fix thereby their
limits on the astrolabe in an easily intelligible manner, images which
Order of the planets " 0t letterS ° f the al P habet - The
and their notation Hindus use a similar system of abridge¬
ment; however, their figures are not
images invented for the purpose, but the initial characters of the
names of the planets, e.g. a = Aditya, or the sun; c = Candra, or the
moon; b = Budha, or Mercury.
The following table exhibits the commonest names of the seven
planets:—
The Planets
Their Names in the Indian Language.
Sun
Aditya, surya, bhanu, arka, divakara, ravi, bibata
(?), heli.
Moon
Soma, candra, indu, himagu, sitarasmi, himarasmi,
sitamsu, sitadidhiti, himamayukha.
Mars
Mangala, bhaumya, kuja, ara, vakra, avaneya,
maheya, krurakshi (?), rakta.
Mercury
Budha, saumya, candra, jna, bodhana, vitta (?),
hemna.
Jupiter
Vrihaspati, guru, jiva, devejya, devapurohita, deva-
mantrin, angiras, suri, devapita.
Venus
Sukra, bhrigu, sita-, bhargava, asbati (?), danava-
guru, bhriguputra, asphujit (?).
Saturn
Sanaiscara, manda, asita, kona, adityaputra, saura,
arki, suryaputra.
The multiplicity of names of the sun as exhibited in the previous
table was the cause which led the theologians to assume also a
multiplicity of suns, so that according to
On the twelve suns them there are twelve suns, each of
which rises in a particular month. ...
The moon too, the companion of the sun, has many names, e.g.
Soma, because she is lucky, and everything lucky is called somagraha,
The Planets, Zodiac and Lunar Stations
105
Names of the moon
whilst all that is unlucky is called
papagraha. Further, Nisesa, i.e. lord of
the night, Nakshatranatha, i.e. lord of the
lunar stations, Dvijesvara, i.e. lord of the Brahmins, Sitamsu, i e. having
a cold ray, because the moon’s globe is watery, which is a blessing to
the earth. When the solar ray meets the moon, the ray becomes as
cool as the moon herself, then, being reflected, it iBrajates tte
darkness, makes the night cool and extinguishes any hurtful kind of
combustion wrought by the sun. Similarly, the moon is also caUed
Candra, which means the left eye of Narayam, as the sun is his right
Cy if the names of the month given in the following table differ in some
respects from those used heretofore, the reader must know that the
names which we have hitherto used are the vernacular or vulgar
ones, whilst those given in this table are the classical:
The Months
The Lunar
Stations
The Months
The Lunar
Stations
Karttika
Margasirsha
Pausha
Magha
Phalguna
Caitr
3 Krittika*
4 Rohini
5 Mrigasirsha*
6 Ardra
7 Punarvasu
8 Pushya*
9 Aslesha
10 Magha*
11 Purva-phalguni*
12 Uttara-phalguni
13 Hasta
14 Citra*
15 Svati
Vaisakha
16 Visakha*
17 Anuradha
Jyaishtha
18 Jyeshtha*
19 Mula
Ashadha
20 Purvashadha*
21 Uttarashadha
Sravana
22 Sravana*
23 Dhanishta
Bhadrapada
24 Satabhishaj
25 Purva-bhadra-
pada*
26 Uttara-bhadra-
pada*
Asvayuja
27 Revati
1 Asvini*
2 Bharani
The signs or tne zouiac nave iiamvo i- °
which they represent, and which are the same among the Hmdusas
among all other nations. The third sign
On the names of j s called Mithuna, which means a pair
signs Of the Zodiac consisting of a boy and a girl; in fact, the
same as the Twins, the well-known image of this sign.
106
India by Al-Biruni
[Varahamihira is quoted in regard to these signs. It is pointed out
that besides the common names Varahamihira also mentions
‘certain Indian names of the signs which are not generally known’. A
consolidated table showing both these sets of names is given.
Pp. 219-20.]
CHAPTER XX
On The Brahmanda
Brahmanda means the-egg of Brahman, and applies in reality to the
whole of heaven (aither), on account of its being round, and of the
particular kind of its motion. It applies
The egg of Brahman, its com- £ven to t j, e whole world, insofar as it is
ing forth from the water divided into an upper and an under part.
When they enumerate the heavens, they call the sum of them
Brahmanda. The Hindus, however, are devoid of training in
astronomy, and have no correct astronomical notions. In conse¬
quence, they believe that the earth is at rest, more particularly as
they when describing the bliss of paradise as something like world y
happiness, make the earth the dwelling-place of the different classes
of gods, angels, &c., to whom they attribute locomotion from the
upper worlds to the lower.
According to the enigmatic expressions of their tradition, the
water was before every other thing, and it filled the space of the
whole world. This was, as I understand them, at the beginning of the
day of the soul (purmhahoratra, p. 153), and the beginning of
formation and combination. Further, they say the water was rolling
and foaming. Then something white came forth from the water, of
which the Creator created the egg of Brahman. Now, according to
108
India by Al-Biruni
some, the egg broke; Brahman came forth from it, the one half
became the heaven, the other the earth, and the broken bits between
the two halves became the rains. If they said mountains instead of
rains, the matter would be somewhat more plausible. According to
others, God spoke to Brahman: “I create an egg, which I make for
thy dwelling in it.” He had created it of the above mentioned foam of
the water, but when the water sank and was absorbed, the egg broke
into two halves. ...
The theory of the Hindus, that the water existed before all
creation, rests on this, that it is the cause of the cohesion of the atoms
of everything, the cause of the growing
Water the first element of Q f everything, and of the duration of life
creation. The egg of Brahman . . ,, . .
broken in two halves in every animated being. Thus the water
is an instrument in the hand of the
Creator when he wants to create something out of matter. ...
The theory of the division of the egg into two halves proves that its
originator was the contrary of a scientific man, one who did not
know that the heaven comprehends the earth, as the shell of the egg
of Brahman comprehends its yolk. He imagined the earth to be
below and the heaven in only one of the six directions from the earth,
i.e. above it. If he had known the truth, he might have spared himself
the theory of the breaking of the egg. However, he wished by his
theory to describe one half of the egg as spread out for the earth, and
The other half as placed upon it for cupola, trying to outvie Ptolemy
in the planispheric representation of a globe, but without success.
[The views of several Indian writers—Brahmagupta, Pulisa,
Balabhadra and Aryabhatta—are quoted, and criticised.
Pp. 223-27.]
CHAPTER XXI
Descriptions Of Earth And Heaven According
To The Religious Views Of The Hindus,
Based Upon Their Traditional Literature
The people of whom we have spoken in the preceding chapter, think
that the earths are seven like seven covers one above the other, and
the upper one they divide into seven
On the seven earths parts, differing from our astronomers,
who divide it into klirnatia, and from the
Persians, who divide it into Kishvar. We shall afterwards give a clear
explanation of their theories derived from the first authorities of their
religious law, to expose the matter to fair criticism. If something in it
appears strange to us, so as to require a commentary, or if we
perceive some coincidence with others, even if both parties missed
the mark, we shall simply put the case before the reader, not with the
intention of attacking or reviling the Hindus, but solely in order to
sharpen the minds of those who study these theories.
They do not differ among themselves as to the number of earths
nor as to the number of the parts of the upper earth, but they differ
regarding their names and the order of
Differences in the sequence these names. I am inclined to derive this
of the earths explained as difference from the great verbosity of
resulting from the copiousness _ , u *
of the language their language, for they call one and the
110
India by Al-Biruni
same thing by a multitude of names. For instance, they call the sun
by a thousand different names according to their own statement, just
as the Arabs call the lion by nearly as many. Some of these names
are original, while others are derived from the changing condi¬
tions of his life or his actions and faculties. The Hindus and
their like boast of this copiousness, whilst in reality it is one of
the greatest faults of the language. For it is the task of language
to give a name to everything in creation and to its effects, a name
based on general consent, so that everybody, when hearing this
name pronounced by another man, understands what he means. If
therefore one and the same name or word means a variety of
things, it betrays a defect of the language and compels the hearer
to ask the speaker what he means by the word. And thus the word in
question must be dropped in order to be replaced either by a similar
one of a sufficiently clear meaning, or by an epithet describing what
is really meant. If one and the same thing is called by many names,
and this is not occasioned by the fact that every tribe or class of
people uses a separate one of them, and if, in fact, one single name
would be sufficient, all the other names save this one are to be
classified as mere nonsense, as a means of keeping people in the
dark, and throwing an air of mystery about the subject. And in any
case this copiousness offers painful difficulties to those who want to
learn the whole of the language, for it is entirely useless, and only
results in a sheer waste of time.
Frequently it has crossed my mind that the authors of books and
the transmitters of tradition have an aversion to mentioning the
earths in a definite arrangement, and limit themselves to mentioning
their names, or that the copyists of the books have arbitrarily altered
the text. For those men who explained and translated the text to me
were well versed in the language, and were not known as persons
who would commit a wanton fraud.
The following table exhibits the names of the earths, as far as I
know them. We rely chiefly on that list, which has been taken from
_ the Aditya-Purana, because it follows a
to the Aditya-Purana^- certain rule, combining every single
earth and heaven with a single member
of the members of the sun. The heavens are combined with the
members from the skull to the womb, the earths with the members
from the navel to the foot. This mode of comparison illustrates their
sequence and preserves it from confusion:—
Earth and Heaven According to Hindus
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VII. The feet Rasatala. Jagara (?) Patala. Suvarna-vama, the Rasatala.
gold-coloured earth.
112
India by Al-Biruni
. . . After the earths follow the heavens, consisting of seven stories,
one above the other. They are called loka, which means “gathering-
place”.
. . . The names of the lokas do not differ like those of the earths.
There is a difference of opinion only regarding their order. We
exhibit the names of the lokas in a table similar to the former (p. 211).
The number of
the Heavens
What members of the
Sun they represent
according to the
Aditya-Purana
Their names
according to the
Aditya, Vayu
and Vishnu Pur anas
i.
The stomach.
Bhurloka.
ii.
The breast.
Bhuvarloka.
hi.
The mouth.
Svarloka.
IV.
The eyebrow.
Maharloka.
V.
The forehead.
Janaloka.
VI.
Above the forehead.
Tapoloka.
VII.
The skull.
Satyaloka.
... So much about the seven earths and the seven heavens. We
shall now speak of the division of the surface of the uppermost earth
and of related subjects.
Dip (dvipa) is the Indian word for island. Hence the words
Sangaladip (Simhaladvipa), which we call Serendib, and the Dibajat
(Maledives, Laccadives). The latter are
Dvipas St and seas numerous islands, which become, so to
speak, decrepit, are dissolved and flatten¬
ed, and finally disappear below the water, whilst at the same time
other formations of the same kind begin to appear above the water like
a streak of sand which continually grows and rises and extends. The
inhabitants of the former island leave their homes, settle on the new
one and colonise it.
According to the religious traditions of the Hindus, the earth on
which we live is round and surrounded by a sea. On the sea lies an
earth like a collar, and on this earth lies again a round sea like a collar.
The number of dry collars, called islands , is seven, and likewise that
of the seas. The size of both dvipas and seas rises in such a
progression that each dvipa is the double of the preceding dvipa , each
sea the double of the preceding sea, i.e. in the progression of the
Earth and Heaven According to Hindus
113
powers of two. If the middle earth is reckoned as one, the size of all
seven earths represented as collars is 127. If the sea surrounding the
middle earth is counted as one, the size of all seven seas represented
as collars is 127. The total size of both earths and seas is 254.
[The commentator of Patanjali and the Vayu-Purana are quoted
regarding the size of the dvipas and the seas. Also the former on the
determining of ‘the dimension of the world’. Pp. 234-38.]
CHAPTER XXII
Traditions Relating To The Pole
The pole, in the language of the Hindus, is called dhruva, and the axis
saiaka. The Hindus, with the exception of their astronomers, speak
always only of one pole, the reason of
and t°he 8 sto? orSomadatta' 6 ' which is their belief in lhe dome °f haven,
as we have heretofore explained.
According to Vayu-Purana, heaven revolves round the pole like a
potter’s wheel, and the pole revolves round itself, without changing
its own place. This revolution is finished in 30 muhurta, i.e. in one
nychtherneron.
[Regarding the South Pole, Al-Biruni refers to a tradition about a
king, Somadatta, who by his noble deeds had come to earn the
Paradise, but who wanted to enter it with his body. He approached
Rishi Vashishtha for this favour but was told that it was impossible.
Further, he was scoffed by Vashishtha’s children. Then he went to
Rishi Visvamitra who was pleased by him and began making a ‘new
Paradise’ for the king. The Rishi ‘began to make the pole and the
Great Bear in the south’, but Indra requested him not to do so.
Visvamitra agreed on condition that Somadatta was to be admitted
into Paradise with his body, and it was done. The Rishi thereupon
desisted from making k a second world, but that which he had already
Traditions Relating to the Pole
115
made up to that moment remained.’ Pp. 239—40.J
It is well known that the North Pole with us is called the Great
Bear, the South Pole Canopus. But some of our people (Muslims)
who do not rise above the uneducated mass, maintain that in the
south of heaven too there is a Great Bear of the same shape as the
northern, which revolves round the southern pole.
Such a thing would not be impossible nor even strange, if the
report about it came from a trustworthy man, who had made long
sea-voyages. Certainly in southern regions stars are seen which we
do not know in our latitudes. ..
When Brahman wanted to create mankind, he divided himself into
two halves, of which the. right one was called Viraj, the left one Mamt
The latter one is the being from whom the period of time called
Manvantara has received its name. Manu had two sons, Priyavrata
and Uttanapada, the bow-legged king.
The story of Dhruva The latter had a son called Dhruva, who
was slighted by one of the wives of
his father. On account of this, he was presented with the power to
turn round all the stars as he pleased. He appeared in the
Manvantara of Svayambhuva, the first of all Manvantaras, and he
has for ever remained in his place. ...
CHAPTER XXIII
On Mount Meru According To The Belief Of
The Authors Of The Puranas And Of Others
We begin with the description of this mountain, since it is the centre
of the dvipas and seas, and, at the same time, the centre of
Jambu-Dvipa. Brahmagupta says:
ea^Tnd Mount Men. “Manifold are the opinions of people
relating to the description of the earth
and to Mount Meru, particularly among those who study the
Puranas and the religious literature. Some describe this mountain as
rising above the surface of the earth to an excessive height. It is
situated under the pole, and the stars revolve round its foot, so that
rising and setting depends upon Meru. It is called Meru because of
its having the faculty of doing this, and because it depends alone
upon the influence of its head that sun and moon become visible.
The day of the angels who inhabit Meru lasts six months, and their
night also six months.”
[The views of Balabhadra on this topic are criticised. Also, those
of Aryabhatta as quoted by the former. Pp. 243-46. In regard to the
latter Al-Biruni points out that there were two persons named
Aryabhatta; one known as ‘Aryabhatta the elder’ and the other as
‘Arvabhatta of Kusumpura’. Al-Biruni writes, ‘In the book of
117
Mount Mem According to the Authors of the Puranas
Aryabhatta of Kusumpura we read that the mountain Meru is in
Himavant the cold zone, not higher than a yojana. In the translation
however, it has been rendered so as to express that it is not higher
than Himavant oy more than a yojana.
This author is not identical with the elder Aryabhatta, but he
belongs to his followers, for he quotes him and follows his example.
I do not know which of these two names is meant by Balabhadra.
See also Pp. 172.]
In general, what we know of the conditions of the place ot this
mountain we know only by ratiocination. About the mountain itself
they have many traditions. Some give it the height of one yojana,
others more; some consider it as quadrangular, others as an octagon.
We shall now lay before the reader what the Rishis teach regarding
this mountain. ...
[Extracts from some of the Puranas and the views of the
commentator of Patanjali are given. Pp. 247-49.]
This is all I could find of Hindu traditions regarding Meru; and as
I have never found a Buddhistic book, and never knew a Buddhist
from whom I might have learned their
Buddhistic views theories on this subject, all I relate of
them I can only relate on the authority
of Aleranshahri, though, according to my mind, his report has no
claim to scientific exactness, nor is it the report of a man who has a
scientific knowledge of the subject. According to him, the Buddhists
believe that Meru lies between four worlds in the four cardinal
directions; that it is square at the bottom and round at the top; that it
has the length of 80,000 yojana, one half of which rises into heaven,
whilst the other half goes down in the earth. That side which is next
to our world consists of blue sapphires, which is the reason why
heaven appears to us blue; the othci sides are of rubies, yellow and
white gems. Thus Meru is the centre of the earth. ...
CHAPTER XXIV
Traditions Of The Puranas Regarding Each Of
The Seven Dvipas
We must ask the reader not to take any offence if he finds all the
words and meanings which occur in the present chapter to be totally
different from anything corresponding
in Arabic. As for the difference of
words, it is easily accounted for by the
difference of languages in general; and
Description of the Dvipas
according to the Matsya and
I ishnu Puranas
as regards the difference of the meanings, we mention them only
either in order to draw attention to an idea which might seem
acceptable even to a Muslim, or to point out the irrational nature of a
thing which has no foundation in itself.
We have already spoken of the central Dvipa when describing the
environs of the mountain in its centre. It is called Jambu-Dvipa,
from a tree growing in it, the branches
1. Jambu-Dvipa
of which extend over a space of 100
yojana. In a latter chapter, devoted to the
description of the inhabitable world and its division, we shall finish
the description of Jambu-Dvipa Next, however, we shall describe
the other dvipas which surround it, following, as regards the order of
the names, the authority of Matsya-Purana. ...
The Puranas and the . Seven Dvipas 119
| There follow brief descriptions of the six dvipas , based mainly on
the Matsya and the Vishnu-Puranas. The account contains some
mythological stories and some incredible particulars, such as the
inhabitants of some of the dvipas living up to the ages of 3000 or
11,000 years. In the extracts reproduced below such portions have
been omitted. Only the geographical particulars as also those relat¬
ing to the social organisation of the inhabitants of the various dvipas
have been included. Pp. 252-56.]
. . . We shall now describe Saka-Dvipa. It has ... seven great
rivers,one of which equals, the Ganges in purity. [In it] there are
seven mountains adorned with jewels,
2. Saka-Dvipa some of which are inhabited by Devas,
others by demons. One of them is a
golden lofty mountain, whence the clouds rise which bring us the
rain. Another contains all the medicines. .. .
. . . The inhabitants of the Saka-Dvipa are pious, long-lived
beings, who can dispense with the rule of the kings, since they do not
know envy nor ambition .. . The four colours are among them, i.e.
the different castes, which do not intermarry nor mix with each other
... the names of their castes are Aryaka, Kurura, Vivimas (Vivamsa),
and Bhavin (?), and they worship Vasudeva.
The third dvipa is Kusa-Dvipa. [It] has seven mountains contain¬
ing jewels, fruits, flowers, odoriferous plants and cereals ... [It]
has seven kingdoms and innumerable
3. Kusa-Dvipa rivers flowing to the sea, which are then
changed by Indira into rain. To the
greatest rivers belong Jaunu (Yamuna), which purifies all sins ... the
inhabitants are pious, sinless people ... They worship Janardana, and
the names ot their castes are Damin, Sushmin, Sneha, and Mandeha.
The fourth, or Kraunca-Dvipa has ... mountains containing
jewels, rivers which are branches of the Ganges, and kingdoms the
people of which have a white colour and
4. Kraunca-Dvipa are pious and pure. According to the
Vishnu-Purana the people there live in
one and the same place without any distinction among members of
the community but afterwards it says that the names of their castes are
Pushkara Pushkala. Dhanva. and Tishya (?). They worship Janardana.
The fifth, or Salmala-Dvipa, has mountains and rivers. Its in¬
habitants are pure, long-lived, mild, and never angry. They never
suffer from drought or dearth, for their food comes to them simply in
120
India by Al-Biruni
answer to their wishes, without their sowing or toiling. They do not
require the rule of kings, since they do not know the desire for
property. The climate of this Dvipa
5. Salmala-Dvipa never alters in cold or heat, so they are
not bound to protect themselves against
either. They have no rain, but the water bubbles up for them out of
the earth and drops down from the mountains. This is also the case
with the following dvipas . ...
They have beautiful faces and worship Bhagavat. They bring
offerings to the fire... The names of their castes are Kapila, Aruna,
Pita, and Krishna.
The sixth, or Gomeda-Dvipa, has two great mountains, the deep-
black Sumanas, which encompasses the greatest part of the Dvipa,
and the Kumuda, of golden colour and
6 Gomeda-Dvipa very lofty; the latter one contains all the
medicines. This Dvipa has two kingdoms.
According to the Vishnu-Parana the inhabitants are pious and
without sin and worship Vishnu. The names of their castes are
Mriga, Magadha, Manasa and Mandaga. The climate of this dvipa
is so healthy and pleasant that the inhabitants of paradise now and
then visit it on account of the fragrancy of its air.
The seventh, or Pushkara-Dvipa, has according to Matsya-Purana
in its eastern part the mountain Citrasala, i.e. having a variegated roof
with horns of jewels. Its height is
7. Pushkara-Dvipa 34,000 yojana , and its circumference
25,000 yojana. In the west lies the
mountain Manasa, shining like the full moon; its height is 35,000
yojana. In the east of this dvipa are two kingdoms. ... The water
bubbles up for them out of the earth, and drops down from the
mountains. They have no rains and no flowing river; they know
neither summer nor winter. They are of one kind, without any
distinction of caste. They never suffer from dearth, and do
not get old ... It is as if they were in a suburb of paradise... So there
is no service, nor rule, no sin, no envy, no opposition, no debating,
no toiling in agriculture and diligence in trading ...
According to the Vishnu-Purana the inhabitants are equal among
each other, not claiming any superiority. ... In this dvipa there is
only a single mountain, called Manasottama, which rises in a round
form on the round dvipa. From its top all other dvipas are visible,
for its height is 50,000 yojanas, and the breadth the same.
CHAPTER XXV
On The Rivers Of India, Their Sources
And Courses
. . . The Matsya-Purana and Vayu-Purana mention the rivers flowing in
Jambu-Dvipa, and say that they rise in the mountains of Himavant.
In the following table we simply
The rivers of Europe and enumerate them without following any
antitstxtelTsions towesT particular principle of arrangement,
and east The reader must imagine that the
mountains form the boundaries of India.
The northern mountains are the snowy Himavant. In their centre lies
Kashmir, and they are connected with the country of the Turks. This
mountain region becomes colder and colder till the end of the
inhabitable world and Mount Meru. Because this mountain has its
chief extension in longitude, the rivers rising on its northside flow
through the countries of the Turks, Tibetans, Khazars, and Slavo¬
nians, and fall into the sea of Jurjan (the Caspian Sea), or the sea of
Khwarism (the Aral Sea), or the Sea Pontus (the Black Sea), or the
northern sea of the Slavonians (the Baltic); whilst the rivers rising
on the southern slopes flow through India and fall into the great
ocean, some reaching it single, others combined.
The rivers of India come either from the cold mountains in the
122
India by Al-Biruni
north or from the eastern mountains, both of which in reality form
one and the same chain, extending
Rivers of India towards the east, and then turning
towards the south until they reach the
great ocean, where parts of it penetrate into the sea at the place
called the Dike of Rama. Of course, these mountains differ very much
in cold and heat.
We exhibit the names of the rivers in the following table:
Sindh or
the river
of
Vaihand
Biyatta
or
Jailam
Candrabhaga Biyaha to
or the west
Candaraha of
Lahore
Iravati
to the
east of
Lahore
S’atarudra
or
Shataldar
Sarsat,
flowing
through
the
country
Sarsat
Jaun
Ganga
Sarayu
or
Sarwa
Devika
Kuhu
Gomati
Dhutapapa Visala
Bahudasa (!) Kausiki
Niscira
Gandaki
Lohita
Drishadvati Tamra
Aruna
Pamasa
Vedasmriti
Vidasini
Candana
Kawana
Para
Carman-
vati
Vidisa
Venumati
S’ipra, rises Karatoya
in the
Pariyatra
and passes
Ujain
Shamahina
... The river Biyatta known as Jailam, from the city of this name
on its western banks, and the river Candaraha join each other nearly
fifty miles above Jahravar, and pass
Rivers of the Punjab along west of Multan.
The river Biyaha flows east of Multan, and joins afterwards the
Biyatta and Candaraha.
The river Irava is joined by the river Kaj, which rises in Nagarkot
in the mountains of Bhatul. Thereupon follows as the fifth the river
The Rivers of India
123
Shatladar (Satlej).
After these five rivers have united below Multan at a place called
Pancanada, i.e. the meeting place of the five rivers, they form an
enormous watercourse. In flood-times it sometimes swells to such a
degree as to cover nearly a space of ten farsakh, and to rise above the
tree of the plains, so that afterwards the rubbish carried by the floods
is found in their highest branches like birds-nests.
The Muslims call the river, after it has passed the Sindhi city
Aror, as a united stream, the river of Mihran Thus it extends, flowing
straight on, becoming broader and broader, and gaining in purity of
water, enclosing in its course places like islands, until it reaches
Almansura, situated between several of its arms, and flows into the
ocean at two places, near the city Loharani, and more eastward in
the province of Kacch at a place called Sindhu-sagara, i.e. the Sindh
Sea. . ..
The river Sarsati falls into the sea at the distance of a bowshot east
of Somanath.
The river Jaun joins the Ganges below Kanoj, which lies west of
it. The united stream falls into the great ocean neat Gangasagara.
Between the mouths of the rivers
Various rivers of India Sarsati and Ganges is the mouth of the
river Narmada, which descends from
the eastern mountains, takes its course in a south-western direction,
and falls into the sea near the town Bahroj, nearly sixty yojana east of
Somanath.
Behind the Ganges flow the rivers Rahab and Kawini, which join
the river Sarwa near the city of Bari. ...
The river Ganges, which is the middle and main stream, flows
through the Gandharva, the musicians, Kimnara, Yakshas,
Rakshasa, Vidyadhara, Uraga, i.e. those who creep on their breasts,
the serpents, Kalapagrama, i.e. the city of the most virtuous,
Kimpurusha, Khasa (?), the mountaineers, Kirata, Pulinda, the
hunters in the plains, robbers, Kuru, Bharata, Pancala, Kaushka (?),
Matsya, Magadha, Brahmottara, and Tamalipta. These are the good
and bad beings through whose territories the Ganges flows.
Afterwards it enters into branches of the mountain Vindhya, where
the elephants live, and then it falls into the southern ocean.
Of the eastern Ganges arms, the Hradini flows through the
countries Nishaba, Upakana, Dhivara, Prishaka, Nilamukha,
Kikara, Ushtrakarna, i.e. people whose lips are turned like their
124
India by Al-Biruni
ears, Kirata, Kalidara, Vivama, i.e. the colourless people, so called
on account of their intense blackness, Kushikana, and Svargabhumi,
i.e. a country like Paradise. Finally it falls into the eastern ocean....
CHAPTER XXVI
On The Shape Of Heaven And Earth According
To The Hindu Astronomers
This and similar questions have received at the hands of the Hindus
a treatment and solution totally different from that which they have
received among us Muslims. The
The Koran, a certain sentences of the Koran on these and
all d resea r rch aSIS ° f other subjects necessary for man to
know are not such as to require a
strained interpretation in order to become positive certainties in the
minds of the hearers, and the same may be said regarding the holy
codes revealed before the Koran. The sentences of the Koran on the
subjects necessary for man to know are in perfect harmony with the
other religious codes, and at the same time they are perfectly clear,
without any ambiguity. . . .
The religious books of the Hindus and their codes of tradition, the
Puranas, contain sentences about the shape of the world which stand
in direct opposition to scientific truth as
known to their astronomers. By these
books people are guided in fulfilling the
rites of their religion, and by means of them the great mass of the
nation have been wheedled into a predilection for astronomical
Veneration of the Hindus
for their astronomers
126
India by Al-Biruni
calculation and astrological predictions and warnings. The con¬
sequence is, that they show much affection to their astronomers
declaring that they are excellent men, that it is a good omen to meet
them, and firmly believing that all of them come into Paradise and
none into hell. For this the astronomers
requite them by accepting their popular
notions as truth, by conforming them¬
selves to them, however far from truth
Astronomers admit
popular notions into
their doctrines
most of them may be, and by presenting them with such spiritual
stuff as they stand in need of. This is the reason why the two
theories, the vulgar and the scientific, have become intermingled in
the course of time, why the doctrines of the astronomers have been
disturbed and confused, in particular the doctrines of those
authors—and they are the majority—who simply copy their
predecessors, who take the basis of their science from tradition and
do not make them the objects of independent scientific research.
We shall now explain the views of Hindu astronomers regarding
the present subject, viz. the shape of heaven and earth. According to
them, heaven as well as the whole world
General observations on the
rotundity of the earth, on
Meru and Vadavamukha
is round, and the earth has a globular
shape, the northern half being dry land,
the southern half being covered with
water. The dimension of the earth is larger according to them than it
is according to the Greeks and modem observations, and in their
calculations to find this dimension they have entirely given up any
mention of the traditional seas and Dvipas, and of the enormous sums
of yojana attributed to each of them. The astronomers follow the
theologians in everything which does not encroach upon their
science, e.g. they adopt the theory of Mount Mem being under the
North Pole, and that of the island Vadavamukha lying under the
South Pole. Now, it is entirely irrelevant whether Mem is there or
not, as it is only required for the explanation of the particular mill¬
like rotation, which is necessitated by the fact that to each spot on
the plane of the earth corresponds a spot in the sky as its zenith.
Also, the fable of the southern island Vadavamukha does no harm
to their science, although it is possible nay, even likely, that each pair
of quarters of the earth forms a coherent, uninterrupted unity, the one
as a continent, the other as an ocean (and that in reality there is no
such island under the South Pole). Such a disposition of the earth is
required by the law of gravitation, for according to them the earth is
127
The Shape of Heaven and Earth
in the centre of the universe, and everything heavy gravitates
towards it. Evidently on account of this law of gravitation they
consider heaven, too, as having a globular shape.
We shall now exhibit the opinions of the Hindu astronomers on
this subject according to our translation of their works. In case,
however, one word or other in our translation should be used in a
meaning different from that which it generally has in our sciences,
we ask the reader to consider only the original meaning of the word
(not the technical one), for this only is meant.
[Extracts from Pulisa’s Siddhanta and Brahmagupta’s Brahma-
Siddhanta are given. Aryabhatta, Vasishta and Lata are also referred
to. Pp. 266-69.]
These are the words of Hindu astronomers regarding the globular
shape of heaven and earth, and what is between them, and regarding
• /I l 1 A 1 1- _ — la M a A ^ A/1 V M ^ ^ O
the fact that the earth, situated in the
centre of the globe, is only of a small
size in comparison with the visible part
of heaven. These thoughts are the
elements of astronomy as contained in
the first chapter of Ptolemy’s Almagest,
Considerations regarding
the rotundity of the earth,
the balance of gravity
between the northern and
southern halves, and the
attraction of gravitation
and of similar books, though they are not worked out in that
scientific form in which we are accustomed to give them.
(Lacuna,)
for the earth is more heavy than the water, and the water is fluid like
the air. The globular form must be to the earth a physical necessity,
as long as it does not, by the order of God, take another form.
Therefore the earth could not move towards the north, nor the water
move towards the south, and in consequence one whole half is not
terra firma, nor the other half water, unless we suppose that the terra
firma half be hollow. As far as our observations, based on induction,
goes, the terra firma must be in one of the two northern quarters, and
therefore we guess that the same is the case on the adjacent quarter.
We admit the possibility of the existence of the island Vadava-
mukha, but we do not maintain it, since all we know of it and of Meru
is exclusively based on tradition.
The equatorial line does not, in the quarter of the earth known to
us, represent a boundary between terra firma and the ocean. For in
certain places the continent protrudes far into the ocean, so as to
pass beyond the equator, e.g. the plains of the negroes in the west.
128
India by Al-Biruni
which protrude far towards the south, even beyond the mountains of
the moon and the sources of the Nile, in fact, into regions which we do
not exactly know. For that continent is desert and impassable, and
likewise the sea behind Siifala of the Zanj is unnavigable. No ship
which ventured to go there has ever returned to relate what it had
witnessed.
Also a great part of India above the province of Sindh deeply
protrudes far towards the south, and seems even to pass beyond the
equator.
In the midst between both lie Arabia and Yemen, but they do not
gc so far south as to cross the equator.
Further, as the terra firma stretches far out into the ocean, thus the
ocean too penetrates into terra firma, breaking into it in various
places, and forming bays and gulfs. For instance, the sea extends as
a tongue along the west side of Arabia as far as the neighbourhood of
Central Syria. It is narrowest near Kulzum, whence it is also called
the Sea of Kulzum.
Another and still larger arm of the sea exists east of Arabia, the
so-called Persian Sea. Between India and China, also, the sea forms a
great curve towards the north.
Hence it is evident that the coast-line of these countries does not
correspond to the equator, nor keep an invariable distance from it.
(Lacuna,)
and the explanation relating to the four cities will follow in its proper
place.
The difference of the times which has been remarked is one of the
results of the rotundity of the earth, and of its occupying the centre of
the globe. And if they attribute to the earth, though it be round,
inhabitants—for cities cannot be imagined without inhabitants—the
existence of men on earth is accounted for by the attraction of
everything heavy towards its centre, i.e. the middle of the world.
Much to the same effect are the expressions of Vayu-Purana, viz.
that noon in Amaravati is sunrise in Vaivasvata, midnight in Sukha,
and sunset in Vibha. ...
In the definition of what is low the Hindus agree with us, viz. that it
is the centre of the world, but their expressions on this head are subtle,
„ . . . ., . more particularly as this is one of the
mihira on the law of gravitation Questions which is only handled
by the most eminent of their scholars.
129
The Shape of Heaven and Earth
So Brahmagupta says: “Scholars have declared that the globe of
the earth is in the midst of heaven, and that Mount Meru, the home
of the Devas, as well as Vadavamukha below, is the home of their
opponents; the Daitya and Danava belong to it. But this below is
according to them only a relative one. Disregarding this, we say that
the earth on all its sides is the same; all people on earth stand upright,
and all heavy things fall down to the earth by a law of nature, for it is
the nature of the earth to attract and to keep things, as it is the nature
of water to flow, that of fire to bum, and that of the wind to set in
motion. If a thing wants to go deeper down than the earth, let it try.
The earth is the only low thing, and seeds always return to it, in
whatever direction you may throw them away, and never rise
upwards from the earth.”
Varahamihira says: “Mountains, seas, rivers, trees, cities, men,
and angels, all are around the globe of the earth. And if Yamakoti
and Rum are opposite to each other, one could not say that the one is
low in its relation to the other, since the low does not exist. How could
one say of one place of the earth that it is low, as it is in every
particular identical with any other place on earth, and one place
could as littl efall as any other.... For the earth attracts that which is
upon her, for it is the below towards all directions, and heaven is the
above towards all directions.”
[Balabhadra’s definition of the extent which may be reached by
the human eye is critically examined; also Pulisa’s views on the axis
of the earth. Pp. 274-77.|
CHAPTER XXVII
On The First Two Motions Of The Universe
(That From East To West According To
Ancient Astronomers And The Precession Of
The Equinoxes), Both According To Hindu
Astronomers And The Authors Of The Puranas
The astronomers of the Hindus hold on this subject mosdy the same
views as ourselves. We shall give quotations from them, but shall at
once confess that that which we are able to give is very scanty
indeed.
[Extracts are given from the works of Pulisa, Brahmagupta and
Balabhadra. Pp. 278-80.]
This is all I have read in Indian books on the subjects.
Their speaking of the wind as the motor {supra) has, I think, only
the purpose of bringing the subject near to the understanding of
people and to facilitate its study; for people see with their own eyes
that the wind, when blowing against
instruments with wings and toys of this
kind, puts them into motion. But as
soon as they come to speak of the first
Criticisms of the author. The
wind as the motor of the
sphere
mover (God), they at once give up any comparison with the natural
First Two Motions of the Universe
131
wind, which in all its phases is determined by certain causes. For
though it puts things into motion, the moving is not its essence, and
besides, it cannot move without being in contact with something,
because the wind is a body, and is acted upon by external influences
or means, its motion being commensurate with their force.
Their saying that the wind does not rest, simply means that the
moving power works perpetually, and does not imply rest and
motion such as are proper to bodies. Further, their saying that it does
not slacken means that it is free from all kinds of accidents; for
slackening and weakening only occur in such bodies or beings which are
composed of elements of conflicting qualities.
The expression that the two poles keep the sphere of the fixed stars
means that they keep or preserve it in
Se sphere° po * es * tee P in & its normal state of motion, not that
they keep or preserve it from falling
down.
[Al-Biruni critically examines the views of Balabhadra and
Brahmagupta, as also those contained in the Puranas, on the follow¬
ing points: (a) the relative nature of time, (b) the fixed stars, (c) the
direction of the heavenly motion, as seen from the different point of
the earth. Pp. 281—88.]
CHAPTER XXVIII
On The Definition Of The Ten Directions
The extension of bodies in space is in three directions: length, breadth,
and depth or height The path of any real direction, not an imaginary
one, is limited; therefore the lines representing these three paths are
limited, and their six end-points or limits are the directions. If you
imagine an animal in the centre of these lines, i.e. where they cut
each other, which turns its face towards one of them, the directions
with relation to the animal are before, behind, right, left, above, and below.
If these directions are used in relation to die world, they acquire
new names. As the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies depend
upon the horizon and the first motion becomes apparent by the
horizon, it is the most covenient to determine the directions by the
horizon. The four directions, east, west, north, south (corresponding to
before, behind, left, and right), are generally known, but the
directions which lie between each two of these are less known. These
make eight directions, and, together with above and below , which do
not need any further explanation, ten directions. ...
The Hindus, in giving names to the directions, have not taken any
notice of the blowing of a wind; they simply call the four cardinal
directions, as well as the secondary directions between them, by
separate names. So they have eight directions in the horizontal plane,
On the Definition of the Ten Directions
133
South
S E
S.W.
Nairrita
Dakshina
Agneya
i—/.
West
Pascima
Madhyadesa
(i.e. the
middle country)
Purva
East
N.W.
Vayava
Uttara
Aisana
N.E.
North___ 7~7u
.. _ ___ nnlf*S Ol the
Besides mere are iwu —-
horizontal plane, the above and below, the former being called apart,
the second Adhas and Tala. ... . c . k
The Hindus can never speak of anything, be it an object of the
intellect or of imagination, without representing it as JpeRon'^
tion, and individual. They at once marry him make him celebrate
marriage, make his wife become pregnant and give birth to some-
thing So, too, in this case. The Vishnu-Dharma relates that Atn ,^ the
star who rules the stars of the Great Bear, married ^
represented as one person, though they are eight in number, and tha
from her the moon was bom. ... . . . . e
According to their custom, the Hindus attribute certain dommants
to the eight directions in the horizontal plane, which we exhibit m
following table: ____
Their Dominants The Directions Their Dominants
The Directions
West
Indra
East
Varuna
The Fire
S.E.
Vayu
N.W.
Yam a
South
Kuru
North
N.E.
Prithu
S.W.
Mahadeva
CHAPTER XXIX
Definition Of The Inhabitable Earth According
To The Hindus
In the book of the Rishi Bhuvanakosa we read that the inhabitable
world stretches from Himavant towards the south, and is called
The Rishi Bhuvanakosa Bhartavarsha, so called from a man,
on the inhabitable world Bharata, who ruled over them and
provided for them. The inhabitants of
this oikoumene are those to whom alone reward and punishment in
another life are destined. It is divided into nine parts, called
Navakhanda-prathama, i.e. the primary nine parts. Between each two
parts there is a sea, which they traverse from one khanda to the other.
The breadth of the inhabitable world from north to south is 1000
yojana.
By Himavant the author means the northern mountains, where the
world, in consequence of the cold, ceases to be inhabitable. So all
civilisation must of necessity be south of these mountains.
His words, that the inhabitants are subject to reward and punish¬
ment, indicate that there are other people not subject to it. These
beings he must either raise from the degree of man to that of angels,
who, in consequence of the simplicity of the elements they are
composed of and of the purity of their nature, never disobey a divine
Definition of the Inhabitable Earth
135
order, being always willing to worship; or he must degrade them to
the degree of irrational animals. According to him, therefore, there
are no human beings outside the oikoumene (i.e. Bharatavarsha).
Bharatavarsha is not India alone, as Hindus think, according to
whom their country is the world, and their race the only race of
mankind; for India is not traversed by an ocean separating one
khanda from the other. Further, they do not identify these khanda with
the dvipas. for the author says that on those seas people pass from
one shore to the other. Further, it follows from his statement that all
the inhabitants of the earth and the Hindus are subject to reward and
punishment, that they are one great religious community.
The nine parts are called Prathama, i.e. primary ones, because they
also divide India alone into nine parts. So the division of the oikoumene
is a primary one, but the division of Bharatavarsha a secondary one.
Besides, there is still a third division into nine parts, as their
astrologers divide each country into nine parts when they try to
find the lucky and unlucky places in it. .. .
Further, the Vayu-Purana mentions the cities and countries which
lie in each direction. We shall exhibit them in tables, together with
similar information from other sources, for this method renders the
study of the subject easier than any other.
Here follows a diagram representing the division of Bharatavarsha
into nine parts.
Nagadvipa
South
T qmnwama
Gabhastimat
West Saumya
Indradvipa or
Madhyadesa, i.e. Kaserumat East
the middle country
Gandharva
Naearasamvritta
North
We have already heretofore mentioned that that part of the earth
in which the oikoumene lies resembles a tortoise, because its borders
are round, because it rises above the
On the figure Kurma-cakra water, and is surrounded by the water,
and because it has a globular convexity
on its surface. However, there is a possibility that the origin of the
136
India by Al-Biruni
name is this, that their astronomers and astrologers divide the
directions according to the lunar stations. Therefore the country,
too, is divided according to the lunar stations, and the figure which
represents this division is similar to a tortoise. Therefore it is called
Kurma-cakra, i.e. the tortoise-circle or the tortoise-shape. . ..
Varahamihira calls each of the Nava-khanda a varga. He says: “By
them (the vargas) Bharatavarsha, i.e. half of the world, is divided into
nine parts, the central one, the eastern,
according to Varahamihira e * c> Then he passes to the south, and
thus round the whole horizon. That he
understands by Bharatavarsha India alone is indicated by his saying
that each varga has a region, the king of which is killed when some
mishap befalls it. So belong
To the 1st or central varga, the region Pancala.
2d varga, . ” Magadha.
3d varga, . ” Kalinga.
4th varga, . •’ Avanti, i.e.
Ujain.
5th varga, . ” Ananta.
6th varga, . ” Sindhu & Sauvira.
7th varga, . ” Harahaura.
8th varga, . ” Madura.
9th varga, - . ” Kulinda.
All these countries are parts of India proper.
Most of the names of countries under which they appear in this
context are not those by which they are now generally known
Utpala, a native of Kashmir, says in his
geogrTphical'^names commentary on the book Samhita regar-
ding this subject: “the names of coun¬
tries change, and particularly in th eyugas. So Multan was originally
called Kasyapapura, then Hamsapura, then Bagapura, then
Sambhapura, and then Mulashthana, i.e. the original place, for mula
means root, origin, and tana means place.”
A yuga is a long space of time, but names change rapidly, when,
for instance, a foreign nation with a different language occupies a
country. Their tongues frequently mangle the words, and thus
transfer them into their own language, as is, e.g. the custom of the
Greeks. Either they keep the original meaning of the names, and try
a sort of translation, but then they undergo certain changes. So the
city of Shash, which has its name from the Turkish language, where
Definition of the Inhabitable Earth
137
it is called Tash-kand, i.e. stone-city , is called stone-tower in the book
Geographia. In this way new names spring up as translations of older
ones. Or, secondly, the barbarians adopt and keep the local names,
but with such sounds and in such forms as are adapted to their
tongues, as the Arabs do in Arabising foreign names, which become
disfigured in their mouth: e.g. Bushahg they call in their books Fusani
and Sakilkand they call in their revenue-books Farfaza (sic). However,
what is more curious and strange is this, that sometimes one and the
same language changes in the mouth of the same people who speak it,
in consequence of which strange and uncouth forms of words spring up,
not intelligible save to him who discards every rule of the language.
And such changes are brought about in few years, without there
being any stringent cause or necessity for it. Of course, in all of this
the Hindus are actuated by the desire to have as many names as
possible, and to practise on them the rules and arts of their
etymology, and they glory in the enormous copiQusness of their
language which they obtain by such means.
The following names of countries, which we have taken from the
Vayu-Purana, are arranged according to the four directions, whilst the
names taken from the Samhita are arranged according to the eight
directions. All these names are of that kind which we have here
described (i.e. they are not the names now in general use). # ...
[The names of the ‘countries’ or regions are listed. Pp. 299-302.]
Hindu astronomers determine the longitude of the inhabitable
world by Lanka, which lies in its centre on the equator, whilst
Yamakoti lies on its east, Romaka on its
2Td S^ddfapurl 3 " 1 ^ 011 ’ west, and Siddhapura on that part of the
equator which is diametrically opposed
to Lanka. Their remarks on the rising and setting of the heavenly
bodies show that Yamakoti and Rum are distant from each other by
half a circle. It seems that they assign the countries of the West (i.e.
North Africa) to Rum or the Roman Empire, because the Rum or
Byzantine Greeks occupy the opposite shores of the same sea (the
Mediterranean); for the Roman Empire has much northern latitude
and penetrates high into the north. No part of it stretches far
southward, and, of course, nowhere does it reach the equator, as the
Hindus say with regard to Romaka.
We shall here speak no more of Lanka (as we are going to treat of
it in a separate chapter). Yamakoti is, according to Yakub 33 and
Alfazari, the country where is the city Tara within a sea. I have not
138
India by Al-Biruni
found the slightest trace of this name in Indian literature. As koti
means castle and Yama is the angel of death, the word reminds me of
Kangdiz, which, according to the Persians, had been built by
Kaika’us or Jam in the most remote east, behind the sea. Kaikhusrau
traversed the sea to Kangdiz when following the traces of Afrasiab
the Turk, and there he went at the time of his anchorite life and
expatriation. For diz means in Persian castle, as koti in the Indian
language, Abu-Ma’shar of Balkh has based his geographical canon
on Kangdiz as the 0° of longitude or first meridian.
How the Hindus came to suppose the existence of Siddhapura I
do not know, for they believe, like ourselves, that behind the
inhabited half-circle there is nothing but unnavigable seas.
In what way the Hindus determine the latitude of a place has not
come to our knowledge. That the longitude of the inhabitable world
is a half-circle is a far-spread theory
JheVI?s e t ri meridra f n Ujain am° n g their astronomers; they differ
(from Western astronomers) only as to
the point which is to be its beginning. If we explain the theory of the
Hindus as far as we understand it, their beginning of longitude is
Ujain, which they consider as the eastern limit of one quarter (of the
oikoument), whilst the limit of the second quarter lies in the west at
some distance from the end of civilisation, as we shall hereafter
explain in the chapter about the difference of the longitudes of two
places.
The theory of the Western astronomers on this point is a
double one. Some adopt the beginning of longitude the shore of the
(Atlantic) ocean.... Now, according to this theory, things have
been united which have no connection with each other. So
Shapurkan and Ujain are placed on the same meridian. ... Others
adopt the Islands of Happy Ones as the beginning of longitude. ...
Both these theories are totally different from that of the Hindus....
If I, by the grace of God, shall live long enough, I shall devote a
special treatise to the longitude of Nishapur where this subject shall
be thoroughly inquired into.
CHAPTER XXX
On Lanka, Or The Cupola Of The Earth
The midst of the inhabitable world, of its longitudinal extension from
east to west on the equator, is by the astronomers (of the Muslims)
called the Cupola of the earth, and the
On the meaning of the . . , , .
term cupola of the earth • g reat Circle wh *C h Passes through the
pole and this point of the equator is
called the meridian of the cupola. We must, however, observe that
whatever may be the natural form of the earth, there is no place on it
which to the exclusion of others deserves the name of a cupola; that
this term is only a metaphorical one to denote a point from which the
two ends of the inhabitable world in east and west are equidistant,
comparable to the top of a cupola or a tent; as all things hanging
down from this top (tent-ropes or walls) have the same length, and
their lower ends the same distances therefrom. But the Hindus never
call this point by a term that in our language must be interpreted by
cupola; they only say that Lanka is between the two ends of the
inhabitable world and without latitude.
The story of Rama There Ravana, the demon, fortified
himself when he had carried off the wife
of Rama, the son of Dasaratha. His labyrinthine fortress is called
'Skzjfc (?), whilst in our (Muslim) countries it is called Yavanakoti
140
India by Al-Biruni
which has frequently been explained as Rome. ...
Rama attacked Ravana after having crossed the ocean on a dyke
of the length of 100 yojana, which he had constructed from a
moun tain jjj a place called Setubandha, i.e. bridge of the ocean, east
of Ceylon. He fought with him and killed him, and Rama’s brother
killed the brother of Ravana, as is described in the story of Rama and
Ramayana 34 . Thereupon he broke the dyke in ten different places by
arrow-shots. .
According to the Hindus, Lanka is the castle of the demons. It is
30 yojana above the earth, i.e. 80 farsakh. Its length from east to west
is 100 yojana; its breadth from north to
On the island of Lanka south is the same as the height (i.e.
thirty).
It is on account of Lanka and the island of Vadavamukha that the
Hindus consider the south as foreboding evil. In no work of piety do
they direct themselves southward or walk southward. The south
occurs only in connection with impious actions. ...
No sailor who has traversed the ocean round the place which is
ascribed to Lanka, and has travelled in that direction, has ever given
such an account of it as tallies with the
The author’s conjecture about traditions of the Hindus or resembles
Unka and Langabalus there is „o tradition which
makes the thing appear to us more possible (than it is according to
the reports of the Hindus). The name Lanka, however, makes me
think of something entirely different, viz. that the clove is called
lavang, because it is imported from a country called Langa. According
to the uniform report of all sailors, the ships which are .sent to this
country land their cargo in boats, viz. ancient Western denars and
various kinds of merchandise, striped Indian cloth, salt, and other
usual articles of trade. These wares are deposited on the shore on
leather sheets, each of which is marked with the name of its owner.
Thereupon the merchants retire to their ships. On the following day
they find the sheets covered with cloves by way of payment, little or
much, as the natives happen to own.
The people with whom this trade is carried on are demons accord¬
ing to some, savage men according to others. The Hindus who are
the neighbours of those regions (of Lanka) believe that the small-pox
is a wind blowing from the island of Lanka to carry off souls.
According to one report, some men warn people beforehand of the
blowing of this wind, and can exactly tell at what times it will reach
On Lanka, or the Cupola of the Earth
141
the different parts of the country. After the small-pox has broken out,
they recognise from certain signs whether it is virulent or not.
Against the virulent small-pox they use a method of treatment by
which they destroy only one single limb of the body, but do not kill.
They use as medicine cloves, which they give to the patient to drink,
together with gold-dust; and, besides, the males tie the cloves, which
are similar to date-kernels, to their necks. If these precautions are
taken, perhaps nine people out of ten will be proof against this
malady.
All this makes me think that the Lanka which the Hindus mention
is identical with the clove-country Langa, though their descriptions
do not tally. However, there is no communication kept up with the
latter, for people say that when perchance a merchant is left behind
on this island, there is no more trace found of him. And this my con¬
jecture is strengthened by the fact that, according to the book of
Rama and Ramayana, behind the well-known country of Sindh there
are cannibals. And, on the other hand, it is well-known among all
seamen that cannibalism is the cause of the savagery and bestiality
of the inhabitants of the island of Langabalus.
CHAPTER XXXI
On That Difference Of Various Places Which
We Call The Difference Of Longitude
He who aims at accuracy in this subject must try to determine
the distance between the spheres of the meridians of the two places
in question. Muslim astronomers reckon
by equatorial times corresponding to the
distance between the two meridians.
On the Hindu method of
determining longitude
and begin to count from one (the western one) of the two places. The
sum of equatorial minutes which they find is called the difference
between the two longitudes; for they consider as the longitude of each
place the distance of its meridian from the great circle passing through
the pole of the equator, which has been chosen as the limit of the
oikoumene, and for this first meridian they have chosen the western
(not the eastern) limit of the oikoumene. It is all the same whether
these equatorial times, whatsoever their number for each meridian
may be, are reckoned as 360 th part of a circle, or as its 60 th part, so
as to correspond to the day-minutes, or as farsakh or yojana.
The Hindus employ in this subject methods which do not rest on
the same principle as ours. They-are totally different; and howsoever
different they are, it is perfectly clear that none of them hits the right
mark. As we (Muslims) note for each place its longitude, the Hindus
Difference of Various Places
143
note the number of ynjanas of its distance from the meridian of Ujain.
And the more to the west the position of a place is, the greater is the
number of yojanas; the more to the east it is, the smaller is this
number. They call it desantara , i.e. the difference between the places.
Further, they multiply the desantara by the mean daily motion of the
planet (the sun), and divide the product by 4800. Then the quotient
represents that amount of the motion of the star which corresponds
to the number of yojana in question, i.e. that which must be added to
the mean place of the sun, as it has been found for moon or midnight
of Ujain, if you want to find the longitude of the place in question.
The number which they use as divisor (4800) is the number of the
yojanas of the circumference of the earth, for the difference between
the spheres of the meridians of the two
places stands in the same relation to the
whole circumference of the earth as the
On the circumference
of the earth
mean motion of the planet (sun) from one place to the other to its
whole daily rotation round the earth. ...
[The observations of Pulisa and Brahmagupta on the circum¬
ference of the earth are critically examined; also the method of
calculating the desantara. Aryabhatta’s views on the meridian of
Ujain are criticised. Pp. 312-16.]
Y'akub Ibn Tarik says in his book entitled The Composition of the
Spheres, that the latitude of Ujain is 4 3/5 degrees but he does not
say whether it lies in the north or the south. . . .
On the other hand, however, all canons of the Hindus agree in
this, that the latitude of Ujain is 24 degrees, and that the sun
culminates over it at the time of the summer solistice.
I myself have found that the latitude of the fortress Lauhur to be
34° 10'_What other latitudes I have been able to observe myself,
I shall enumerate in this place:—Ghazna 33° 35'; Kabul 33° 47 ;
Kandi, the guard-station of the prince, 33° 55'; Dunpur 34° 20';
Lamghan 34° 43'; Purshavar 34° 44'; Waihind 34° 30'; Jailam
32 a 20'; the fortress Nandna 32° 0'_Sialkot 32° 58'; Mandakka-
kor 31° 50'; Multan 29° 40'. ...
We ourselves have (in our travels) in their country not passed
beyond places which we have mentioned, nor have we learned any
more longitudes and latitudes (of places in India) from their
literature. It is God alone who helps to reach our objects.
CHAPTER XXXII
On The Notions Of Duration And Time In
General, And On The Creation Of The World
And Its Destruction
According to the relation of Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya Alrazi, 35 the
most ancient philosophers of the Greeks thought that the following
five things existed from all eternity, the
On the notion^of time creator, the universal soul, the first hule, space
other^phflosophers 21 ^ m the abstract, and time in the abstract On
these things Alrazi has founded that
theory of his, which is at the,bottom of his whole philosophy.
Further, he distinguishes between time and duration in so far as
number applies to the former, not to the latter; for a thing which can
be numbered is finite, whilst duration is infinite. Similarly,
philosophers have explained time as duration with a beginning and an
end, and eternity as duration without beginning and end.
According to Alrazi, those five things are necessary postulates of the
actually existing world. For that which the senses perceive in it is the
hulc acquiring shape by means of combination. Besides, the hule
occupies some place, and therefore we must admit the existence of
space. The changes apparent in the world of sense compel us to assume
the existence of time, for some of them are earlier, others later, and
On the Notions of Duration and Time
145
the before and the afterwards , the earlier and the later, and the
simultaneous can only be perceived by means of the notion of time,
which is a necessary postulate of the existing world.
Further, there are living beings in the existing world. Therefore we
must assume the existence of the soul. Among these living beings
there are intelligent ones, capable of carrying the arts to the highest
perfection; and this compels us to assume the existence of a Creator,
who is wise and intelligent, who establishes and arranges everything
in the best possible manner, and inspires people with the force of
intelligence for the purpose of liberation.
On the other hand, some sophists consider eternity and time as
one and the same thing, and declare the motion which serves to
measure time alone to be finite.
Another one declares eternity to be the circular motion. No doubt
this motion is indissolubly connected with that being which moves by
it, and which is of the most sublime nature, since it lasts for ever.
Thereupon he rises in his argumentation from the moving being to its
mover, and from the moving mover to the first mover who is
motionless.
This kind of research is very subtle and obscure. But for this, the
opinions would not differ to such an extent that some people declare
that there is no time at all, while others declare that time is an inde¬
pendent substance. According to Alexander of Aphrodisias,
Aristotle gives in his book Phusike Akroasis the following argu¬
mentation: “Everything moving is moved by a mover", and Galenus
says on the same subject that he could not understand the notion of
time, much less prove it.
The theory of the Hindus on this subject is rather poor in thought
and very little developed. Varahamihira says in the opening of his
book Samhita, when speaking of that
which existed from all eternity: “It has
been said in the ancient books that the
first primeval thing was darkness, which is not identical with the
black colour, but a kind of non-existence like the state of a sleeping
person. Then God created this world for Brahman as a cupola for
him. He made it to consist of two parts, a higher and a lower one,
and placed the sun and moon in it." Kapila declares: “God has
always existed, and with him the world, with all its substances and
bodies. He, however, is a cause to the world, and rises by the
subtlety of his nature above the gross’ nature of the world."
The notions of Hindu
philosophers on time
146
India by Al-Biruni
Kumbhaka says: "The primeval one is Mahabhuta , i.e. the compound
of the five elements. Some declare that the primeval thing is time,
others nature, and still others maintain that the director is kaunan, i.e.
action.”
In the book Vishnu-Dhanna, Vajra speaks to Markandeya:
“Explain to me the times;” whereupon the latter answers: “Duration
is atmapurusha” i.e. a breath, and purusha, which means the lord of the
universe. Thereupon, he commenced explaining to him the divisions
of time and their dominants, just as we have propounded these things
in detail in the proper chapters (chap, xxxiii, et seq.).
The Hindus have divided duration into two periods, a period of
motion, which has been determined as time, and a period of rest, which
can be determined only in an imaginary way according to the
analogy of that which has first been determined, the period of
motion. The Hindus hold the eternity of the Creator to be determinable.
not measurable, since it is infinite. We, however, cannot refrain from
remarking that it is extremely difficult to imagine a thing which is
determinable but not measurable, and that the whole idea is very far¬
fetched. We shall here communicate so much as will suffice for the
reader of the opinions of the Hindus on this subject, as far as we
know them.
The common notion of the Hindus regarding creation is a popular
one, for as we have already mentioned, they believe matter to be
eternal. Therefore, they do not, by the
The Day of Brahman a word creation understand a formation of
period of creation, the Night some thine out of nothing. They mean by
of Brahman a period of . , 1, ‘ i •
non-creation creation only the working with a piece
of Clay, working out various combina¬
tions and figures in it, and making such arrangements with it as will
lead to certain ends and aims which are potentially in it. For this
reason they attribute the creation to angels and demons, nay, even to
human beings, who create either because they carry out some legal
obligation which afterwards proves beneficial for the creation, or
because they intend to allay their passions after having become
envious and ambitious. So, for instance, they relate that Visvamitra,
the Rishi, created the buffaloes for this purpose, that mankind should
enjoy all the good and useful things which they afford. . .
Here in this context we meet with a duration of time which
Muslim authors, following the example of the Hindus, call the years of
the world. People think that at their beginnings and endings creation
On the Notions of Duration and Time
147
and destruction take place as kinds of new formations. This,
however, is not the belief of the people at large. According to them,
this duration is a day of Brahman and a consecutive night of
rfrahman; for Brahman is entrusted with creating. Further, the
coming into existence is a motion in that which grows out of
something different from itself, and the most apparent of the causes
of this motion are the meteoric motors, i.e. the stars. These,
however, will never exercise regular influences on the world below
them unless they move and change their shapes in every direction (=
their aspects). Therefore the coming into existence is limited to the
day of Brahman, because in it only, as the Hindus believe, the stars are
moving and their spheres revolving according to their pre-
established order, and in consequence the process of coming into
existence is developed on the surface of the earth without any
interruption.
On the contrary, during the night of Brahman the spheres rest from
their motions, and all the stars, as well as their apsides and nodes,
stand still in one particular place.
In consequence all the affairs of the earth are in one and the same
unchanging condition, therefore the coming into existence has
ceased, because he who makes things come into existence rests. So
both the processes of acting and of being acted upon are suspended;
the elements rest from entering into new metamorphoses and com¬
binations, as they rest now in ( lacuna; perhaps: the night), and they
prepare themselves to belong to new beings, which will come into
existence on the following day of Brahman.
In this way existence circulates during the life of Brahman, a subject
which we shall propound in its proper place.
According to these notions of the Hindus, creation and destruc¬
tion only refer to the surface of the earth. By such a creation, not
one piece of clay comes into existence
which did not exist before, and by such
a destruction not one piece of clay
Critical remark
of the author
which exists ceases to exist. It is quite impossible that the Hindus
should have the notion of a creation as long as they believe that
matter existed from all eternity.
The Hindus represent to their common people the two durations
here mentioned, the day of Brahman and the night of Brahman, as
his waking and sleeping; and we do not disapprove of these terms, as
they denote something which has a beginning and end. Further, the
148
J ndia by Al-Biruni
whole of the life of Brahman, consisting of a succession of motion and
rest in the world during such a period,
L r fs r ie a e n pinr akm8 is considered as applying only to
existence, not to non-existence, since
during it the piece of clay exists and, besides, also its shape. The life
of Brahman is only a day for that being who is above him, i.e. Purusha
(cf. chap, xxxv ). When he dies all compounds are dissolved during
his night, and in consequence of the annihilation of the compounds,
that also is suspended which kept him (Brahman) within the laws of
nature. This, then, is the rest of Purusha, and of all that is under his
control (lit. and of his vehicles).
When common people describe these things, they make the night
of Brahman follow after the night of Purusha; and as Purusha is the
name for a man, they attribute to him
JXSSplTiSSSf” sl “P' n e »«*"« They derive
destruction from his snoring,, in conse¬
quence of which all things that hang together break asunder, and
everything standing is drowned in the sweat of his forehead. And
more of the like they produce, things which the mind declines to
accept and the ear refuses to hear.
Therefore the educated Hindus do not share these opinions
(regarding the waking and sleeping of Brahman), for they know the
real nature of sleep. They know that the body, a compound of anti¬
pathetic humores , requires sleep for the purpose of resting, and for
this purpose that all which nature requires, after being wasted,
should be duly replaced. So, in consequence of the constant dis¬
solution, the body requires food in order to replace that which had
been lost by emaciation. Further, it requires cohabitation for the
purpose of perpetuating the species by the body, as without coha¬
bitation the species would die out. Besides, the body requires other
things, evil ones, but necessary, while simple substances can
dispense with them, as also he can who is above them, like to whom
there is nothing.
Further, the Hindus maintain that the world will perish in con¬
sequence of the conjunction of the twelve suns, which appear one
after the other in the different months,
enTof S the 8 world 8 the ruining the earth by burning and calcin¬
ing it, and by withering and drying up
all moist substances. Further, the world perishes in consequence of
the union of the four rains which now come down in the different
On the Notions of Duration and Time
149
seasons of the year; that which has been calcined attracts the water
and is thereby dissolved. Lastly, the world perishes by the cessation
of light and by the prevalence of darkness and non-existence. By all
this the world will be dissolved into atoms and be scattered. ...
The context of these passages makes it clear that this destruction
of the world takes place at the end of a kalpa, and hence is derived
the theory of Abu Ma’shar that a deluge
takes place at the conjunction of the
planets, because, in fact, they stand in
Abu-Ma’shar uses
Indian theories
conjunction at the end of each caturyuga and at the beginning of each
kaliyuga. If this conjunction is not a complete one, the deluge, too,
will evidently not attain the highest degree of its destructive power.
The farther we advance in the investigation of these subjects, the
more light will be shed on all ideas of this kind, and the better the
reader will understand all words and terms occurring in this context.
Aleranshahri records a tradition, as representing the belief of the
Buddhists, which much resembles the silly tales just mentioned. On
the sides of Mount Meru there are four
worlds, which are alternately civilised
or desert. A world becomes desert when
Buddhist notions from
Aleranshahri
it is overpowered by the fire, in consequence of the rising of seven
suns, one after the other, over it, when the water of the fountains
dries up, and the burning fire becomes so strong as to penetrate into
the world. A world becomes civilised when the fire leaves it and
migrates to another world; after it has left, a strong wind rises in the
world, drives the clouds, and makes 4:hem rain, so that, the world
becomes like an ocean. Out of its foam shells are produced, with
which the souls are connected, and out of these human beings
originate when the water has sunk into the ground. Some Buddhists
think that a man comes by accident from the perishing world to the
growing world. Since he feels unhappy on account of his being alone,
out of his thought there arises a spouse, and from this couple
generation commences.
CHAPTER XXXIII
On The Various Kinds Of The Day Or
Nychthemeron, And On Day And
Night In Particular
According to the general usage of Muslims, Hindus, and others, a
day or nychthemeron means the duration of one revolution of the sun
in a rotation of the universe, in which he
Definition of day and night starts from the one half of a great circle
and returns to the same. Apparently it is
divided into two halves: the day (i.e. the time of the sun’s being
visible to the inhabitants of a certain place on earth), and the night
(i.e. the time of his being invisible to them). His being visible and
being invisible are relative facts, which differ as the horizons differ.
It is well known that the horizon of the equator, which the Hindus
call the country without latitude, cuts the circles parallel to the meridian
in two halves. In consequence, day and night are always equal there.
However, the horizons which cut the parallel circles without passing
through their pole divide them into two unequal halves, the more so
the smaller the parallel circles are. In consequence, there day and
night are unequal, except at the times of the two equinoxes, when on
the whole earth, except Meru and Vadavamukha, day and night are
equal. Then all the places north and south of the line share in this
151
On the Various Kinds of the Day or Nychthemeron
peculiarity of the line, but only at this time, not at any other.
The beginning of the day is the sun’s rising above the horizon, the
beginning of the night his disappearing below it. The Hindus
consider the day as the first, the night as
Manushyahoratra the second, part of the nychthemeron.
Therefore they call the former Savana,
i.e. a day depending on the rising of the
sun. Besides, they call it Manushyahoratra, i.e. a human day, because,
in fact, the great mass of their people do not know any other kind of
day but this. Now, assuming the Savana to be known to the reader,
we shall in the following use it as a stapdard and gauge, in order
thereby to determine all the other kinds of days.
[Al-Biruni describes ‘the other kinds of days’. Selected extracts
from this description are given below:]
After the human days follows Pitrinamahoratra, i.e. the nychthe¬
meron of the forefathers, whose spirits, according to the belief of the
Hindus, dwell in the sphere of the
Days of the fathers moon. Its day and night depend upon
light and darkness, not upon the rising
and setting in relation to a certain horizon. When the moon stands in
the highest parts of the sphere with reference to them, this is a day to
them; and when it stands in the lowest parts, it is night to them.
Evidently their moon is the time of the conjunction or full moon, and
their midnight is opposition, or new moon. Therefore the nychthemeron
of the forefathers is a complete lunar month, the day beginning at the
time of half-moon, when the light on the moon’s body begins to
increase, and the night beginning at the time of half-moon, when her
light begins to wane. ...
Next follows the Divyahoratra, i.e. the nychthemeron of the angels.
It is known that the horizon of the greatest latitude, i.e. that of 90
degrees where the pole stands in the
Days of the Devas zenith, is the equator, not exactly, but
approximately, because it is a little
below the visible horizon for that place on earth which is occupied
by Mount Meru; for its top and slopes the horizon in question and
the equator may be absolutely identical, although the visible horizon
lies a little below it (i.e. farther south). Further, it is evident that the
zodiac is divided into two halves by being intersected by the equator,
the one half lying above the equator (i.e. north of it), the second half
below it. As long as the sun marches in the signs of northern
152
India by Al-Biruni
declination it revolves like a mill, since the diurnal arcs which he
describes are parallel to the horizon, as in the case of the sun-dials.
For those who live under the north pole the sun appears above the
horizon, therefore they have day. Whilst for those under south pole
the sun is concealed below the horizon, and therefore they have
night. When, then, the sun migrates to the southern signs, he
revolves like a mill below the horizon, (i.e. south of the equator);
hence it is night to the people living under the north pole and day to
those living under the south pole.
The dwellings of the Devaka, i.e. the spiritual beings, are under the
two poles; therefore this kind of day is called by their name, i.e. the
nychthemeron of the Deva.
Aryabhatta of Kusumpura says that the Devas see one half of the
solar year, the Danava the other; that the Pitaras see one half of the
lunar month, human beings the other. So one revolution of the sun in
the zodiac affords day and night both to the Deva and Danava, and
their totality is a nychthemeron.
In consequence our year is identical with the nychthemeron of the
Deva. In it, however, day and night are not equal (as in the
nychthemeron of the forefathers), because the sun moves slowly in
the half of the northern declination about its apogee, by which the
day becomes a little longer. However, this difference is not equal to
the difference between the visible horizon and the real one, for this
cannot be observed on the globe of the sun. Besides, according to
Hindu notions, the inhabitants of those places are raised above the
surface of the earth, dwelling on Mount Meru. Whoever holds this
view holds regarding the height of Meru the same opinions as those
we have described in the proper place (in chap, xxiii). In
consequence of this height of Mount Meru, its horizon must fall a
little lower (i.e. more southward than the equator), and in conse¬
quence the rate of the day’s being longer than the night is lessened
(as then the sun does not entirely reach his northern apogee,
where he makes the longest days). If this were anything else but
simply a religious tradition of the Hindus, besides being one regard¬
ing which even they do not agree among themselves, we should try to
find, by astronomical calculation, the amount of this depression of
the horizon of Mount Meru below the equator, but as there is no use
in this subject (Mount Meru being simply an invention), we drop
it. . . .
Next follows the Brahmahoratra, i.e. the nychthemeron of
153
On the Various Kinds of the Day or Nychthemeron
Brahman. It is not derived from light and darkness (as that of the
forefathers), nor from the appearing or
Day of Brahman disappearing of a heavenly body (like
that of the Devas), but from the
physical nature of created things, in consequence of which they move
in the day and rest in the night. The length of the nychthemeron of
Brahman is 8,640,000,000 of our years. During one half of it, i.e.
during the day, the aether, with all that is in it, is moving, the earth is
producing, and the changes of existence and destruction are
constandy going on upon the surface of the earth. During the other
half, i.e. the night, there occurs the opposite of everything which
occurs in the day; the earth is not changing, because those things
which produce the changes are resting and all motions are stopped,
as nature rests in the night and in the winter, and concentrates itself,
preparing for a new existence in the day and in the summer.
Each day of Brahman is a kalpa, as also each night, and a kalpa is
that space of time which Muslim authors call the year of the Sindhind.
Lastly follows the Purushahoratra, i.e. the nychthemeron of the All¬
soul, which is also called Mahakalpa, i.e. the greatest kalpa. The
Hindus only use it for the purpose of
Day Of Purusha determining duration in general by
something like a notion of time, but do
not specify it as day and night. I almost feel inclined to think that the
day of this nychthemeron means the duration of the soul s being
connected with the hule , whilst the night means the duration of their
being separated from each other, and of the resting of the souls (from
the fatigue of being mixed up with the hule), and that that condition
which necessitates the soul’s being connected with the hule or its
being separated from the hule reaches its periodical end at the end of
this nychthemeron. The Vishnu-Dharma says: “The life of Brahman is
the day ofPurusha,and the night ofPurusha has the same length”....
CHAPTER XXXIV
On The Division Of The Nychthemeron Into
Minor Particles Of Time
The Hindus are foolishly painstaking in inventing the most minute
particles of time, but their efforts have not resulted in a universally
adopted and uniform system. On the
Ghali contrary, you hardly ever meet with two
books or two men representing the
subject identically. In the first instance, the nychthemeron is divided
into sixty minutes or ghati ...
Each minute is divided into sixty seconds, called cashaka or
tashaka cakhaka, and also vighatika.
Each second is divided into six parts or prana,
hann i.e. breath. ...
It is all the same whether we determine the prana according to this
rule (one nychthemeron = 21,600 prana) or if we divide each ghati
into 360 parts (60 x 360 = 21,600), or each degree of the sphere
into sixty parts (360 X 60 = 21,600).
As far as this all Hindus agree with each other in the matter,
Vmadl though they use different terms. ...
Other people insert between minute and second a third measure,
called kshana, which is equal to one-fourth of a minute (or fifteen
Division of the Nychthemeron
155
seconds). Each kshana # is divided
Kshana into fifteen kala, each of which is equal
to one-sixtieth of a minute, and this is
the cashaka, only called by another name.
Among the lower orders of these fractions of time there occur
three names which are always mentioned in the same sequence. The
largest is the nimesha, i.e. the time during
Nimesha, lava, ttuti which the eye, in the normal state of
things, is open between two consecutive
looks. The lava is the mean, and the truti the smallest part of time, the
latter word meaning the cracking of the forefinger against the inside
of the thumb, which is with them a gesture expressive of
astonishment or admiration. The relation between these three
measures varies very much. According to many of the Hindus
2 truti = 1 lava.
2 lava = 1 nimehsa
Further, they differ as to the relation between the nimesha and the
next higher order of fractions of time, for according to some the latter
Y kashtha) contains fifteen, according to others thirty nimesha. Others,
again, divide each of these three measures into eighths, so that—
8 truti =1 lava
8 lava = 1 nimesha
8 nimesha = 1 kashtha (?)...
The whole system is represented in the following Table:
The names of the
measures of time
Ghati, Nadi
Kshana
Cashaka, Vinadi, Kala
Prana
Nimesha
Lava
Truti
Anu .
How many times the How many of
smaller one is con- it are contained
tained in the in one day
larger one
60
60
4
240
15
3,600
6
21,600
8
172,800
8
1,382,400
8
11,059,200
8
88,473,600
The Hindus have also a popular kind of division of the nychthe-
156
India by Al-Biruni
meron into eight prabara, i.e. changes of the watch, and in some parts
of their country they have clepsydrae
Prabara regulated according to the ghati, by
which the times of the eight watches
are determined. After a watch lasts seven and a half ghati has
elapsed, they beat the drum and blow a winding shell called sankha,
in Persian sped-muhra . I have seen this in the town of Purshur. Pious
people have bequeathed for these clepsydrae, and for their
administration, legacies and fixed incomes.
Further, the day is divided into thirty muhurtas, but this division is
not free from a certain obscurity; for sometimes you think that the
muhurtas have always the same length,
Muhurta since they compare them either with the
ghati and say that two ghati are one
muhurta, or with the watches , and say that one watch is three and three-
quarters muhurtas. Here the muhurtas are treated as if they were horoe
oequinoctiales (i.e. so and so many equal parts of the nychthemeron).
However, the number of such hours of day or of a night differs on
every degree of latitude, and this makes us think that the length of a
muhurta during the day is different from its length during the night ....
[Pulisa’s views as to whether the length of the muhurta is variable
or invariable is critically examined. Pp. 338-342.]
We represent the dominants of the single muhurta in the follow-
Dominants of the muhurta ing Table:
The number The dominants of
of the muhurta in the day
muhurta
The dominants of the muhurta
in the night
1 .
2 .
3.
4.
5.
6 .
7.
8 .
Shiva, i.e. Mahadeva Rudra, i.e. Mahadeva
Bhujaga, i.e. the
snake
Mitra
Pitri
Vasu
Apas, i.e. the water
Visva
Virincya, i.e.
Brahman
Aja, i.e. the lord of all cloven¬
footed animals
Ahirbudhnya, the lord of
U tt ar abh adrapad a
Pushan, the lord of Revati
Dasra, the lord of Asvini
Antaka, i.e. the angel of death
Agni, i.e. the fire
Dhatri, i.e. Brahma the preserver
Division of the Nychthemeron
157
9.
Kesvara(?), i.e.
Mahadeva
10.
Indragni
11.
Indra, the prince
12.
Nisakara, i.e. the
moon
13.
Varuna, i.e. the 1<
of the clouds
14.
Aryaman
15.
Bhageya(?)
Soma, the lord of Mrigasirsha
Guru, i.e. Jupiter
Hari, i.e. Narayana
Ravi, i.e. the sun
Yama, the angel of death
Tvashtri, the lord of Citra
Anila, i.e. the wind
Nobody in India uses the hours except the astrologers, for they
speak of the dominants of the hours, and, in consequence, also
of dominants of the nychthemera. The
On the hours in dominant of the nychthemeron is at the
Hindus astrology same time the dominant of the night, for
they do not separately establish a dominant for the day, and the night
is, in this connection, never mentioned. They arrange the order of the
dominants according to the horoe temporales.
They call the hour hora, and this name seems to indicate that in
reality they use the horoe obliquoe temporales; for the Hindus call the
media signorum (the centres of the signs of the Zodiac) hora, which we
Muslims call nimbahr (cf. chap. 1 xxx ). The reason is this, that in
each day and each night always six signs rise above the horizon. If,
therefore, the hour is called by the name of the centre of a sign, each
day and each night has twelve hours, and in consequence the hours
used in the theory of the dominants of the hours are horoe obliquoe
temporales, as they are used in our country and are inscribed on the
astrolabes on account of these dominants. ...
The Hindus give certain names to the horoe obliquoe, which we have
united in the following Table. We think
Names of the thev are taken from the bodk Srudhava.
twenty-four horns J
The
number
of the
Horns
Names of
the Horns
in the day
Whether fav¬
ourable or
unlucky
Their names
in the night
Whether fav¬
ourable or
unlucky
1.
2.
Raudra
Saumya
Unlucky
Lucky
Kalaratri
Rodhini
Unlucky
Lucky
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India by Al-Biruni
3.
Karala
Unlucky
4.
Sattra
Lucky
5
Vega
Lucky
6.
Visala
Lucky
7.
Mrityusara
Unlucky
8.
Subha
Lucky
9.
Kroda
Lucky
10.
Candala
Lucky
11.
Krittika
Lucky
12.
Amrita
Lucky
Vairahma(?)
Lucky
Trasaniya
Unlucky
Guhaniya(?)
Lucky
Maya
Unlucky
Damariya(?)
Lucky
Jivaharani
Unlucky
Soshini
Unlucky
Vrishni
Lucky
Dahariya(?)
The most un¬
lucky of all
Cantima(?)
Lucky
CHAPTER XXXV
On The Different Kinds Of Months And Years
Definition of the
lunar month
The natural month is the period of the moon’s synodical revolution.
We call it physical because it develops in the same way as all natural
phenomena, rising out of a certain
beginning like non-existence, increasing
by degrees, and growing, standing still
when the climax is attained, then descending, waning away and
decreasing, till at last they return to the non-existence whence they
came. In the same manner the light develops on the body of the
moon, since she appears after the moonless nights as a crescent, then
as a young moon (after the third night), and as full moon, and
thereafter returns through the same stages to the last night, which is
like non-existence, at all events with reference to human senses. It is
well known to everybody why the moon continues for some length of
time in the moonless nights, but it is not equally known, not even to
educated people, why she continues some time as full moon. They
must learn how small the body of the moon is in comparison with
that of the sun, that in consequence the enlightened portion by far
exceeds the dark one, and that this is one of the causes why the moon
must necessarily appear as full moon for some length of time.
That the moon has certain effects on moist substances, that they
160
India by Al-Biruni
are apparently subject to her influences that, for instance, increase i
and decrease in ebb and flow develop
Effects of moonlight periodically and parallel with the
moon’s phases, all this is well known to
the inhabitants of seashores and seafaring people. Likewise
physicians are well aware that she affects the humores of sick people,
and that the fever-days revolve parallel with the moon’s course.
Physical scholars know that the life of animals and plants depends
upon the moon, and experimentalists know that she influences
marrow and brain, eggs and the sediments of wine in casks and jugs,
that she excites the minds of people who sleep in full moonlight, and
that she affects (?) linen clothes which are exposed to it. Peasants
know how the moon acts upon fields of cucumbers, melons, cotton,
etc., and even make the times for the various kinds of sowing,
planting, and grafting, and for the covering of the cattle depend upon
the course of the moon. Lastly, astronomers know that meteorologic
occurrences depend upon the various phases through which the
moon passes in her revolutions. This is the month, and twelve of
them are in technical language called a lunar year.
The natural year is the period of a revolution of the sun in the
ecliptic. We call it the natural, because it comprehends all the stages
in the process of generation which
Solar month revolve through the four seasons of the
year. In the course of it, the rays of the
sun as passing through a window-glass and the shadows of the
sundials reassume *he same size, position, and direction in which,
or from which, they commenced. This is the year, and is called the
solar one, in antithesis to the lunar year. As the lunar month is the
twelfth part of the lunar year, the twelfth part of the solar year is a
solar month in theory, the calculation being based on the mean
rotation of the sun. If, however, the calculation is based on his
varying rotation a solar month is the period of his staying in one sign
of the zodiac.
These are the well-known two kinds of months and years.
The Hindus call the conjunction amavasya, the opposition pumima ,
and the two quarters ATVH (?). Some of them use the lunar year
with lunar months and days, whilst
On luni-solar calculation others use the lunar year but solar
months, beginning with 0° of each
zodiacal sign. The sun’s entering a sign is called sankranti This luni-
/
On the Different Kinds of Months and Years
161
solar calculation is, however, only an approximative one. If they
constantly used it, they would soon feel induced to adopt the solar
year itself and solar months. In using this mixed system they had
only this advantage, that they could dispense with intercalation.
Those who use lunar months begin the month with conjunction of
new moon, and this method is the
kmar'months **** canonical one, whilst the others begin it
with the opposition or full moon. ...
The numeration of the days of the month begins with the new
moon and the first lunar day is called brba, and again enumeration
begins with full noon (i.e. they count
S 1 two°hdves Unted twice fifteen days, beginning with new
moon and full moon). Each two days
which are equidistant from new moon or full moon have the same
name (or number). In them, light and darkness on the body of the
moon are in corresponding phases of increasing and waning, and the
hours of the rising of the moon in one day correspond to the hours of
her setting in the other. ...
As months are composed of days, there are as many kinds of
months as there are kinds of days. Each
Various kinds of months month has thirty days. We shall here
use the civil day ( Savana, v. chap.
xxxiii) as a standard. ...
A month has 30 lunar days, for this number is canonical, as the
number of 360 is canonical for the number of days of a year. The
soiar month has 30 solar days and
1.362.987
30-r
3,110,400
civil days.
The solar year has 365
827
3,200
civil days.
CHAPTER XXXVI
On The Four Measures Of Time Called Mana
Mana and pramana mean measure. The four kinds of measures are
mentioned by Yakub Ibn Tarik in his book Compositio Sphoerarum, but
he did not know them thoroughly, and besides, the names are
misspelled, if this is not the fault of the copyists.
They are—
Saura-mana, i.e. the solar measure.
Savana-mana , i.e. the measure depending upon the rising (civil
measure).
Candra-mana, i.e. the lunar measure.
Nakshatra-mana i.e. the lunar-station measure ( sidereal measure).
The saura-mana is used in the computation of the years which
compose the kalpa and the four yugas in the caturyugas, of the years of
the nativities, of the equinoxes and
What use is made of the solstices, of the sixth parts of the year or
and savana-mana the seasons, and of the difference
between day and night in the nychthe-
meron. All these are computed in solar years, months, and days.
The candra-mana is used in the computation of the eleven karana
(v. chap, lxxviii), in the determination of the leap month, in the
computation of the sum of days of the unaratra (v. chap, li), and ol
163
On the Four Measures of Time Called Mana
new moon and full moon for lunar and solar eclipses (v. chap. lix).
The savana-mana is used in the calculation of the vara, i.e.the days
of the week, of the ahargana, i.e. the sum of the days of an era
(v. chap, li); in determining the days of marriage and fasting (v. chap,
lxxv); the sutaka, i.e. the days of childbed (v. chap, lxix); the days of
the uncleanness of the houses and the vessels of the dead (v. chap,
lxxii); the cikitsa, i.e. certain months and years in which Hindu
medical science prescribes the taking of certain medicines; further in
determining, the prayascitta, i.e. the days of the expiations which the
Brahmans make obligatory for those who have committed some sin,
times during which they are obliged to fast and to besmear
themselves with butter and dung (v. chap. lxxi). All these things are
determined according to savana-mana.
On the contrary, they do not determine anything by the nakshatra-
mana, since it is comprehended in the candra-mana.
Every measure of time which any class of people may choose by
general consent to call a day, may be considered as a mana. Some
such days have already been mentioned in a preceding chapter (v.
chap, xxxiii). However, the four manas par excellence are those to the
explanation of which, we have limited the present chapter.
CHAPTER XXXVII
On The Parts Of The Month And The Year
As the year is one revolution of the sun in the ecliptic, it is divided in
the same way as the ecliptic. The latter is divided into two halves,
depending upon the two solstitial points.
Uttarayana and dakshinayana Correspondingly, the year is divided
into two halves, each of which is called
ay ana.
When the sun leaves the point of the winter solstice, he begins
to move towards the north pole. Therefore this part of the year,
which is nearly one half, is referred to the north and called uttarayana,
i.e. the period of the sun’s marching through six zodiacal signs
beginning with Caper. In consequence, this half of the ecliptic is called
makaradi, i.e. having Caper as beginning.
When the sun leaves the point of the summer solstice he begins to
move towards the south pole; therefore this second half is referred to
the south and called dakshinayana, i.e. the period of the sun s
marching through six zodiacal signs beginning with Cancer. In
consequence, this half of the ecliptic is called karkadi, i.e. having
Cancer as beginning.
Uneducated people use only these two divisions or year-halves,
because the matter of the two solstices is clear to them from
appearance.
On the Parts of the Month and the Year
165
observation of their senses.
Further, the ecliptic is divided into two halves, according to its
declination from the equator, and this division is a more scientific
one, less known to the people at large
vttarakuia and dahhakuia than the former, because it jests on
calculation and speculation. Each halt
is called hula. That which has northern declination is caUed
uttarakula or meshadi, i.e. having Aries as beginning; that which has
southern declination is called dakshakula or tuladi, i.e. having Libra as
Further, the ecliptic is by both these divisions divided into four
parts and the periods during which the sun traverses them are called
the seasons of the year —spring, summer.
The seasons autumn, and winter. Accordingly, the
zodiacal signs are distributed over the
seasons. However, the Hindus do not divide the year into four, but
into six parts, and call these six parts ritu. Each ntu comprehends
two solar months, i.e. the period of the sun’s marching through two
consecutive zodiacal signs. Their names and dominants are
represented, according to the most widespread theory, in the
following diagram. ., ,
I have been told that in the region of Somanath people divide the
year into three parts, each consisting of four months, the first being
varshakala, beginning with month ashadha; the second, sitakala, ue. the
winter; and the third, ushnakala, i.e. the summer.... The months are
divided into two halves from new moon to full moon, and from lull
moon to new moon....
CHAPTER XXXVIII
On The Various Measures Of Time Composed
Of Days, The Life Of Brahman Included
The day is called dim as (dimasu), in classical language divasa, the
night ratri, and the nychthemeron ahoratra. The month is called masa
.. its half paksha. The first or white
Recapitulation of the , u . . n , ,
single measures of time nal1 1S Called suklapakshd , because the
first parts of its nights have moonlight
at times when people do not yet sleep, when the light on the moon's
body increases and the dark portion decreases. The other or black
half is called krishnapaksha, because the first parts of its nights are
moonless, whilst other parts have moonlight, but only when people
sleep. They are the nights when the light on the body of the moon
wanes, whilst the dark part increases.
The sum of two months is a ritu, but this is only an approximative
definition, for the month which has two paksha is a lunar month,
whilst that one the double of which is a ritu is a solar month.
Six ritu are a year of mankind, a solar year, which is called bath or
barkh or harsh, the three sounds h, kh, and sh being much confounded
in the month of the Hindus (Skr. varsha).
Three hundred and sixty years of mankind are one year of the
angels, called dibba-barh (divya-varsh) , and 12,000 years of the angels
Various Measures of Time
167
are unanimously reckoned as one caturyuga. There is a difference of
opinion only regarding the four parts of the caturyuga and regarding
the multiplications of it which form a manavantara and a kalpa. This
subject will be fully explained in the proper place (v. chaps, xli and
xliv). . .
CHAPTER XXXIX
On Measures Of Time Which Are Larger Than
The Life Of Brahman
All that is devoid of order or contradicts the rules laid down in the
preceding parts of this book is repulsive to our nature and dis¬
agreeable to our ear. But the Hindus
are people who mention a number of
names, all—as they maintain—referring
to the One, the First, or to some one
Want of system
regarding the greatest
measures of time
behind him who is only hinted at. When they come to a chapter like
this, they repeat the same names as denoting a multitude of beings,
measuring out lives for them and inventing huge numbers. The latter
is all they want; they indulge in it most freely, and numbers are
Datient. standing as vou place them. Besides, there is not a single
subject on which the Hindus themselves agree among each other,
and this prevents us on our part adopting the use of it. On the
contrary, they disagree on these imaginary measures of time to the
same extent as on the divisions of the day which are less than a prana.
Sources quoted regarding the calculation of the greatest measure
of time as determined by kalpas and truth. Pp. 361-363.]
CHAPTER XL
On The Samdhi, The Interval Between Two
Periods Of Time, Forming The Connecting Link
Between Them
The original samdhi is the interval between day and night, i.e.
morning-dawn, called samdhi udaya, i.e. the samdhi of the rising, and
evening dawn, called samdhi astamana,
§?£££ «* »»* <* «•«■* The
Hindus require them for a religious
reason, for the Brahmans wash themselves during them, and also at
noon in the midst between them for dinner, whence an uninitiated
person might infer that there is still a third samdhi However, none
who knows the subject properly will count more than two samdhis.
Besides the two samdhi of the natural day, astronomers and other
people assume still other samdhis, which do not rest on a law of
nature nor on observation, but simply
on some hypothesis. So they attribute a
On the samdhi of the year-half sarndhl to ea ch ayana, i.e. to each of the
and its combmaUon with the . , ..... ,
precession of the equinoxes. year-halves in which the sun ascends
Other kinds of samdhi ^ descends (v. chap, xxxvii), a samdhi
of seven days before its real beginn¬
ing. On this subject I have an idea which is certainly possible.
170
India by Al-Biruni
and even rather likely, viz. that this theory is of recent origin, not of
ancient date, and that it has been brought forward about 1300 of
Alexander (= A.D. 989), when the Hindus found out that the real
solstice precedes the solstice of their calculation. ...
CHAPTER XLI
Definition Of The Terms “Kalpa” And “Catur-
yuga,” And An Explication Of The One By The
Other
Twelve thousand divya years, the length of which has already been
explained (v. chap, xxxv), are one catuiyuga, and 1,000 caturyugas
are one kalpa, a period at the beginning
On the measure of a and en( j Q f which there is a conjunction
mturyuga and a ^ of the seven planets and their apsides
and nodes in 0° of Aries. The days of the kalpa are called the kalpa-
ahargam, for ah means day, and argana means the sun Since they are
civil days derived from the rising of the sun, they are also called days of
the earth, for rising presupposes an horizon, and an horizon is one of
the necessary attributes of the earth.
By the same name, kalpa-ahargana, people also call the sum of
days of any era up to a certain date.
Our Muslim authors call the days of the kalpa the days of the Sindhind
or the days of the world , counting them as 1,577,916, 450,000 days
(savana or civil days), or 4,320,000,000 solar years, or 4,452,775,000
lunar years. ... .
Within the space of a kalpa 71 caturyugas are equal to 1 manu, i.e.
manavantara, or Manu-period, and 14 manus are equal to 1 kalpa.
172
India by Al-Biruni
Relation between
manavantara and kalpa
Multiplying 71 by 14, you get 994 caturyugas as the period of 14
manavantaras, and a remainder of 6
caturyugas till the end of the kalpa. .. .
All we have said in this chapter rests
on the theory of Brahmagupta and on the arguments by which he
supports it.
Aryabhatta the elder and Pulisa compose the manavantara from 72
caturyugas, and the kalpa from 14 manavantaras, without inserting
anywhere samdhi Therefore, according
^.^Osa^lCabhatU, ^ AJSSJ 1 ” L °° 8
the younger further 12,096,000, divya years or 4,354,
560,000 human years. ...
I have not been able to find anything of the books of Aryabhatta.
All I know of him I know through quotations from him given by
Brahmagupta. ...
Aryabhatta of Kusumpura, who belongs to the school of the elder
Aryabhatta, says in a small book of his on Al-ntf (?) that “1,008
caturyugas are one day of Brahman. The first half of 504 caturyugas is
called utsarpini, during which the sun is ascending, and the second
half is called avasrapini, during which the sun is descending. The
midst of this period is called sama, i.e. equality, for it is the midst of
the day, and the two ends are called durtama (?).”
CHAPTER XLII
On The Division Of The Caturyuga Into Yugas,
And The Different Opinions Regarding The
Latter
The author of the Vishnu-Dharma says: “Twelve hundred divya years
are one yaga, called tishya. The double of it is a dvapara, the triple a
, treta, the quadruple a krita, and all four
The single parts of a caturyuga . . •
according to Vishnu-Dharma yugas together are one caturyuga, i.e the
Brahma f our yugas or sums.
“Seventy-one caturyugas are one manavantara, and 14 mamvantaras,
together with a samdhi of the duration of one kritayuga between each
two of them, are one kalpa. Two kalpas are a nychthemeron of
Brahman, and his life is a hundred years, or one day of Purusha, the
first man, of whom neither beginning nor end is known.”
[Brahmagupta’s view on the subject and his ‘offensive’ criticism ol
Aryabhatta’s views are stated, pp. 373-376. On the latter point Al-
Biruni remarks that:]
Now, it is evident that that which Brahmagupta relates on his
authority, and with which he himself agrees is entirely unfounded;
but he is blind to this from sheer hatred of Aryabhatta, whom he
abuses excessively*. And in this respect Aryabhatta and Pulisa are the
same to him. I take for witness the passage of Brahmagupta, where
174
India by Al-Biruni
he says that Aryabhatta has subtracted something from the cycles of
the Caput Draconis and of the apsis of the moon and thereby rendered
confused the computation of the eclipse. He is rude enough to
compare Aryabhatta to a worm which, eating the wood, by chance
describes certain characters in it, without understanding them and
without intending to draw them....In such offensive terms he attacks
Aryabhatta and maltreats him. ...
CHAPTER XLIII
A Description Of The Four Yugas, And Of All
That Is Expected To Take Place At The End Of
The Fourth Yuga
The ancient Greeks held regarding the earth various opinions, of
which we shall relate one for the sake of an example.
The disasters which from time to time befall the earth, both from
above and from below, differ in quality and quantity. Frequently it
has experienced one so incommensu-
On natural cataclysms rable in quality or in quantity, or in both
together, that there was no remedy
against it, and that nd flight or caution was of any avail. The cata¬
strophe comes on like a deluge or an earthquake, bringing
destruction either by the breaking in of the surface, or by drowning
with water which breaks forth, or by burning with hot stones and
ashes that are thrown out, by thunderstorms, by landslips, and
typhoons; further, by contagious and other diseases, by pestilence,
and more of the like. Thereby a large region is stripped of its
inhabitants; but when after a while, after the disaster and its
consequences have passed away, the country begins to recover and
to show new signs of life, then different people flock there together
like wild animals, who formerly were dwelling in hiding-holes and on
176
India by Al-Biruni
the tops of the mountains. They become civilised by assisting each
other against common foes, wild beasts or men, and furthering each
other in the hope for a life in safety and joy. Thus they increase to
great numbers; but then ambition, circling round them with the wings
of wrath and envy, begins to disturb the serene bliss of their life.
Sometimes a nation of such a kind derives its pedigree from a
person who first settled in the place or distinguished himself by
something or other, so that he alone continues to live in the
recollection of the succeeding generations, whilst all others beside
him are forgotten. ...
The Hindus have similar traditions regarding the caturyuga, for
according to them, at the beginning of it, Le. at the beginning of
kritayuga, there was happiness and
th^r^SefooS” 8 Safety ’ ferti,ity 311(1 abundance ’ health
and force, ample knowledge and a great
number of Brahmans. The good is complete in this age, like four-
fourths of a whole, and life lasted 4,000 years alike for all beings
during this whole space of time.
Thereupon things began to decrease and to be mixed with opposite
elements to such a degree, that at the beginning of tretayuga the good
was thrice as much as the invading bad, and that bliss was three-
quarters of the whole. There were a greater number of Kshatriyas
than of Brahmans, and life had the same length as in the preceding
age. So it is represented by the Vishnu-Dharma, whilst analogy
requires that it should be shorter by the same amount than bliss is
smaller, i.e. by one-fourth. In this age, when offering to the fire, they
begin to kill animals and to tear off plants, practices which before
were unknown.
Thus the evil increases till, at the beginning of dvapara, evil and
good exist in equal proportions, and likewise bliss and misfortune.
The climates begin to differ, there is much killing going on, and the
religions become different. Life becomes shorter, and lasts only 400
years, according to the Vishnu-Dharma. At the beginning of Tishya, i.e.
kaliyuga, evil is thrice as much as the remaining good.
The Hindus have several well-known traditions of events which
are said to have occurred in the treta and dvapara yugas, e.g. the story
of Rama, who killed Ravana; that of Parasurama the Brahman, who
killed every Kshatriya he laid hold upon, revenging on them the
death of his father. They think that he lives in heaven, that he has
already twenty-one times appeared on earth, and that he will again
Description of the Four Yugas
177
appear. Further, the story of the war of the children of Pandu with
those of Kuru.
In the kaliyuga evil increases, till at last it results in the destruction
of all good. At that time the inhabitants of the earth perish, and a
new race rises out of those who are scattered through the mountains
and hide themselves in caves, uniting for the purpose of worshipping
and flying from the horrid, demoniac human race. Therefore this age
is called kritayuga, which means “Being ready for going away after
having finished the work.”
In the story of Saunaka which Venus received from Brahman,
God speaks to him in the following words: “When the Kaliyuga
comes, I send Budhodana, the son of
Suddhodana the pious, to spread good
to the creation. But then Muhammira, i.e.
Description of the
kaliyuga
the red-wearing ones, who derive their origin from him, will change
everything that he has brought, and the dignity of the Brahmans will
be gone to such a degree that a Sudra, their servant, will be impudent
towards them. . .. The castes will be in uproar against each other,
the genealogies will become confused and the four castes will be
abolished, and there will be many religions and sects. ...
[Description of the kaliyuga , as given, in Vishnu-Dharma and some
other sources, is presented. Pp. 380-382].
But finally, at the end of the yuga , when the evil will have reached
its highest pitch, there will come forward Garga, the son of J-S-V (?)
the Brahman, i.e. Kali, after whom thisjwga is called, gifted with an
irresistible force, and more skilled in the use of any weapon than any
other. Then he draws his sword to make good all that has become
bad; he cleans the surface of the earth of the impurity of people and
clears the earth of them. He collects the pure and pious ones for the
purpose of procreation. Then the kritayuga lies far behind them, and
the time and the world return to purity, and to absolute good and to
bliss.
This is the nature of the yugas as they circle round through the
caturyuga.
The book Caraka, as quoted by Ali Ibn Zain of Tabaris^an, says:
“In primeval times the earth was always fertile and healthy, and the
elements or Mahabhuta were equally
mixed. Men lived with each other in
harmony and love, without any lust and’
The origin of medicine
according to the # book Caraka
ambition, hatred and envy, without anything that makes soul and
178
India by Al-BiruvA
body ill. But then came envy, and lust followed. Driven by lust, they
strove to hoard up, which was difficult to some, easy to others. All
kinds of thoughts, labours, and cares followed, and resulted in war,
deceit, and lying. The hearts of men were hardened, the natures were
altered and became exposed to diseases, which seized hold of men
and made them neglect the worship of God and the furtherance of
science. Ignorance became deeply rooted, and the calamity became
great. Then the pious met before their anchorite Krisa (?) the son of
Atreya, and deliberated; whereupon the sage ascended the mountain
and threw himself on the earth. Thereafter God taught him the
science of medicine.”
[Similar Greek traditions are quoted, pp. 383-385].
CHAPTER XLIV
On The Manavantaras
As 72,000 halpas are reckoned as the life of Brahman, the
manavantara , i.e. period of Manu, is reckoned as the life of Indra,
whose rule ends with the end of the
TCie single manavantaras , period. His post is occupied by another
children of Indra Indra, who then rules the world m the
new manavantara. .,.
[A Table, showing the (lumber (14) and names of the manavan¬
taras, according to the Vishnu-Purana, Vishnu-Dharma and some othei
sources, and the names of Indra and the children of Manu, the king
of the earth who ruled at the beginning of each period, is given.
Explaining the variations in the names of some of the manavantaras,
Al-Biruni comments on the excessive concern of the Hindus with
names. He adds that they are more interested in names than the ‘the
order in which they are recorded for the posterity’, pp. 387-388].
CHAPTER XLV
On The Constellation Of The Great Bear
The Great Bear is in the Indian language called Saptarshayas, i.e. the
Seven Rishis. They are said to have been anchorites who nourished
themselves only with what it is allow-
£ tra i! iti ? n r L elati " g to r able to eat, and with them there was a
Vasishtha pious woman, Al-suha (Ursa Major, star
80 by z). They plucked off the stalks of
the lotus from the ponds to eat of them. Meanwhile came The Law
(Dharma?) and concealed her from them. Every one of them felt
ashamed of the other, and they swore oaths which were approved of
by Dharma. In order to honour them, Dharma raised them to that
place where they are now seen (sic).
[A description of the Great Bear, as given in the Samhita of
Varahamihira, is quoted. The differences in the statements of some
Indian sources regarding the position of the Great Bear are
examined and criticised. Al-Biruni makes an incidental but
important remark that ‘our time’ (the time of the compilation of his
account, i.e. 1030) corresponded with 952 of the Sakakala. This
provides corroborative evidence on the concordance of the Saka era,
pp. 389-392. He concludes the chapter by observing that:]
Mistakes and confusion such as we have here laid open arise, in
On the Constellation of the Great Bear
181
the first place, from the want of the necessary skill in astronomical
researches, and secondly, from the
Theological opinions Q f Hindus of mixing up scienti-
fic questions with religious traditions.
For the theologians believe that the Seven Rishis stand higher than the
fixed stars, and they maintain that in each manavantara there will
appear a new Manu, whose children will destroy the earth, but the
rule will be renewed by Indra, as also the different classes of the
angels and the Seven Rishis. The angels are necessary, for mankind
must offer sacrifices to them and must bring to the fire the shares for
them; and the Seven Rishis are necessary, because they must renew
the Veda, for it perishes at the end of each manavantara.
Our information on this subject we take from the Vishnu-Parana.
From the same source we have taken die names of the Seven Rishis
in each manavantara, as exhibited by the
The Seven Rishis in the following Table:—
different manavantaras °
[A Table showing Seven Rishis or the
stars of the Great Bear in the 14 manavantaras is given. P. 394].
CHAPTER XLVI
On Narayana, His Appearance At Different
Times And His Names
Narayana is according to the Hindus a supernatural power, which
does not on principle try to bring about the good by the good, nor
~ 4 . the bad by the bad, but to prevent the
On the nature of Narayana evil and destruction by whatever means
. . happen to be available. For this force
the good exists prior to the bad, but if the good does not properly
develop nor is available, it uses the bad, this being unavoidable In
so doing, it may be compared to a rider who has got into the midst of
a cornfie d. When he then comes back to his senses, and wants to
avoid evil-doing and to get out of the mischief he has committed, he
has no other means but that of turning his horse back and riding out
on the same road on which he has entered the field, though in going
out he will do as much mischief as he has done in entering, and even
m °L?' t J here 1S no other Possibility of making amends save this.
he Hindus do not distinguish between this force and the First
Cause of their philosophy. Its dwelling in the world is of such a nature
dial people compare it to a material existence, an appearance in
body and colour, since they cannot conceive any other kind of
appearance.
On N ar ay ana and His Names
183
Besides other times, Narayana has appeared at the end of the first
manavantara to take away the rule of the worlds from Va.akhily (0,
who had given it the name, and wanted to take it into h,s own hands.
Narayana came and handed it over to Satakratu, the pe ormer o
hundred sacrifices, and made him Indra.
IA story is narrated about how Narayana appeared again at the
end of the sixth manavantara and killed King Bali, son o irocana,
PP jn^another^passage of the same book /Vishnu-Parana/ we read:
“Vishnu, i.e. another name for Narayana, comes at the end of each
dvaparn to divide the Veda into four parts, because men are feeble
and unable to observe the whole of it. In his face he resemb e.
Vy [The names of the Vyasas of the seventh manavantara are enu-
merated, pp. 398-399].
!
CHAPTER XLVII
On Vasudeva And The Wars Of The Bharata
The life of the world depends upon sowing and procreating. Both
processes increase in the course of time, and this increase is
unlimited, whilst the world is limited.
Analogies of the course
of nature to the
history of mankind
When a class of plants or animals
does not increase any more in its
structure, and its peculiar kind is
established as a species of its own, when each individual of it does not
simply come into existence once and perish, but besides procreates a
being like itself or several together, and not only once but several
times, then this will as a single species of plants or animals occupy
the earth and spread itself and its kind over as much territory as it
can find.
The agriculturist selects his com, letting grow as much as he
requires, and tearing out the remainder. The forester leaves those
branches which he perceives to be excellent, whilst he cuts away all
others. The bees kill those of their kind who only eat, but do not work
in their beehive.
Nature proceeds in a similar way; however, it does not distinguish,
for its action is under all circumstances one and the same. It allows
the leaves and fruit of the trees to perish, thus preventing them from
On Vasudeva and the Wars of the Bharata
185
realising that result which they are intended to produce in the
economy of nature. It removes them so as to make room for others.
If thus the earth is ruined, or is near to be ruined, by having too
many inhabitants, its ruler—for it has a ruler, and his all-embracing
care is apparent in every single particle of it—sends it a messenger
for the purpose of reducing the too great number and of cutting away
all that is evil.
A messenger of this kind is, according to the belief of the Hindus,
Vasudeva, who was sent the last time in human shape, being called
Vasudeva. It was a time when the
Stop of the birth giants were numerous on earth and
° asu eva the earth was full of their oppression; it
tottered, being hardly able to bear the whole number of them, and it
trembled from the vehemence of their treading. Then there was bom
a child in the city of Mathura to Vasudeva by the sister of Kamsa, at
that time ruler of the town. They were a Jatt family, cattle-owners,
low Sudra people. Kamsa had learned, by a voice which he heard at
the wedding of his sister, that he would perish at the hands of her
child; therefore, he appointed people who were to bring him every
child of hers ... and he killed all her children ... Finally, she gave
birth to Balbhadra, and Yasoda, the wife of the herdsman Nanda,
took the child to herself ... Thereupon she became pregnant an
eighth time, and gave birth to Vasudeva in a rainy night of the eighth
day of the black half of the month of Bhadrapada ... As the guards
had fallen into deep sleep ... the father stole the child and brought it
to Nandkula, i.e. the stable of the cows of Nanda, near Mathura ...
Vasudeva grew up under the care of his foster-mother Yasoda
without her knowing that he had been exchanged for her daughter...
but Kamsa got some inkling of the matter. ...
[The account of the war between the Kauravas and Pandus is as
follows :]
The children of Kaurava (i.e Dhritarashtra) had the charge of
their cousins (the children of Pandu). Dhritarashtra received them
and played dice with them, the last stake being their whole property.
They lost more and more, until he laid upon them the obligation of
expatriation for more than ten years, and of concealment in the
remotest part of the country, where nobody knew them. If they did
not keep this engagement they would be bound to return into
banishment for a like number of years. This engagement was carried
out, but finally came the time of their coming forward for battle.
186
India by Al-Biruni
Now each party began to assemble their whole number and to sue
for allies, till at last nearly innumerable hosts had gathered in the
plain of Taneshar. There were eighteen akshauhini Each party tried
to gain Vasudeva as ally, whereupon he offered either himself or his
brother Balabhadra together with an army. But the children of Pandu
preferred him. They were five men—Yudhishthira, their leader,
Aijuna, the bravest of them, Sahadeva, Bhimasena, and Nakula.
They had seven akshauhini, whilst their enemies were much stronger.
But for the cunning devices of Vasudeva and his teaching them
whereby they might gain victory, they would have been in a less
favourable situation than their enemies. But now they conquered; all
those hosts were destroyed, and none remained except the five
brothers. Thereafter Vasudeva returned to his residence and died,
together with his family, who were called Yadava. Also the five
brothers died before the year had reached its end, at the end of those
wars.
[Al-Biruni gives some further details of the end of Vasudeva and
of the five Pandu brothers. One among the brothers and relations of
Vasudeva went to a Rishi, Durvasa, with a frying-pan hid under his
coat and asked him about the result of his pregnancy. The Rishi,
annoyed at thus being jeered at, said the thing in his belly would
cause his, and his clansmen’s, death. Vasudeva who knew that the
curse would come true got the pan filed and thrown in a river. One
small piece of it was eaten by a fish, and a fisherman who caught the
fish and cut it got an arrow-head made of that bit. It was from this
arrow that Vasudeva, while sitting cross-legged under a tree, was
shot by a fisherman who mistook him for a gazelle. Out of the other
bits of filed pan a bardi bush had grown. When the Yadavas reached
near it and sat drinking, a quarrel occurred among them and they
killed each other with the bardi bundles. Aijuna, who had been
ordered by Vasudeva to bum his body and carry away the women
was attacked by robbers on the way. Though he beat them off he felt
that his strength was failing him. He and his brothers, therefore
‘emigrated’ to the north and entered the mountains. The cold killed
them one after the other, (Pp. 404-406).
CHAPTER XLVIII
An Explanation Of The Measure Of An
Akshauhini
Each akshauhini
has 10 antkini.
” antkini
” 3 camu
99 camu
” 3 pritana
” pritana
” 3 vahini
99 vahini
” 3 gana
99 gana
” 3 gulma
” gulma
3 senamukha
” senamukha
” 3 patti
” patti
” 1 ratha
In chess, the latter is called rukh, whilst Greeks call it chariot of war.
It was invented by Manhalus (Myrtilos?) in Athens, and the
Athenians maintain that they were the first who rode on chariots of
war. However, before that time they had already been invented by
Aphrodisias (sic) the Hindu, when he ruled over Egypt, about 900
years after the deluge. They were drawn by two horses. ...
A ratha comprehends besides, one elephant, three riders, and five
footmen.
All these orders and divisions are necessary for the preparation for
battle, for pitching camp and breaking up camp.
188 India by Al-Birum
An akshauhini has 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610
riders, 109,350 footmen.
To each chariot there belong four horses and their conductor, the
master of the chariot, armed with arrows, his two companions armed
with spears, a guard who protects the master from behind, and a
Cartwright.
On each elephant there sits its conductor, and behind him the vice¬
conductor, a man who has to goad the elephant behind the chair, the
master, armed with arrows, in the chair, and together with him his
two spear-throwing companions and his jester, hauhava (?), who on
other occasions runs before him.
Accordingly the number of people who ride on chariots and
elephants is 284,323 (sic). The number of those who ride on horses
is 87,480. The number of elephants in an akshauhini is 21,870; the
number of chariots, too, is 21,870; the number of horses is 153,090;
the number of men, 459,283.
The sum-total of the living beings of one akshauhini, elephants,
horses, and men, is 634,243; the same number for eighteen
akshauhini is 11,416,374, viz. 393,660 elephants, 2,755,620 horses,
8,267,094 men.
This is an explanation of the akshauhini, and of its single parts.
CHAPTER XLIX
A Summary Description Of The Eras
Enumeration of some of
the eras of the Hindus
The eras serve to fix certain moments of time which are mentioned
in some historical or astronomical connection. The Hindus do not
consider it wearisome to reckon with
huge numbers, but rather enjoy it. Still,
in practical use, they are compelled to
replace them by smaller (more handy) ones.
Of their eras we mention—
1. The beginning of the existence of Brahman.
2. The beginning of the day of the present nychthemeron of
Brahman, i.e. the beginning of the kalpa.
3. The beginning of the seventh marmvantara, in which we are
now.
4. The beginning of the twenty-eighth calutyuga, in which we are
now.
5. The beginning of the fourth yuga of the present calutyuga, called
kalika/a i.e. the time of Kali. The whole yuga is called after him,
though, accurately speaking, his time falls only in the last part of the
yuga. Notwithstanding, the Hindus mean by kalikala the beginning of
the kaliyuga.
6. /'audava-ka/a, i.e. the time of the life and the wars of Bharata.
190
India by Al-Biruni
All these eras vie with each other in antiquity, the one going back
to a still more remote beginning than the other, and the sums of years
which they afford go beyond hundreds, thousands, and higher orders
of numbers. Therefore not only astronomers, but also other people,
think it wearisome and unpractical to use them.
In order to give an idea of these eras, we shall use a first gauge or
point of comparison that Hindu year the great bulk of which
coincides with the year 400 of Yazdajird.
400 ‘^test-year This number consists only of hundreds,
not of units and tens, and by this peculi¬
arity it is distinguished from all other years that might possibly be
chosen. Besides, it is a memorable time; for the breaking of the
strongest pillar of the religion, the decease of the pattern of a prince,
Mahmud, the lion of the world, the wonder of his time—may God
have mercy upon him!—took place only a short time, less than a
year, before it. The Hindu year precedes the Nauroz or new year’s
day of this year only by twelve days, and the death of the prince
occurred precisely ten complete Persian months before it.
Now, presupposing this our gauge as known, we shall compute the.
years for this point of junction, which is the beginning of the cor- 11
responding Hindu year, for the end of all years which come into
question coincides with it, and the Nauroz of the year 400 of
Yazdajird falls only a little later (viz. twelve days).
[On the basis of extracts from various Indian scriptures and
scientific treatises, Al-Biruni calculates the following: (a) how much
of the life of Brahman has elapsed, (b) the period of Rama and (c)
how much time has elapsed of the current kaliyuga.
He goes on to give brief explanatory account of the origin of the
following more important and prevalent eras of (1) Sri Harsha, (2)
Vikramaditya, (3) Saka, (4) Valabha, and (5) Gupta. [Pp. 2-5].
The Hindus believe regarding Sri'Harsha that he used to examine
the soil in order to see what of hidden treasures was in its interior, as
far down as the seventh earth; that, in
Era of Sri Harsha fact, he found such treasures; and that,
in consequence, he could dispense with
oppressing his subjects (by taxes, etc). His era is used in Mathura
and the country of Kanoj. Between Sri Harsha and Vikramaditya
there is an interval of 400 years, as I have been told by some of the
inhabitants of that region. However in the Kashmirian calendar I
have read that Sri Harsha was 664 years later than Vikramaditya. In
Description of the Eras
191
face of this discrepancy I am in perfect uncertainty, which to the
present moment has not yet been cleared up by any trustworthy
information.
Those who use the era of Vikramaditya live in the southern and
western parts of India. It is used in the following way: 342 are
multiplied by 3, which gives the product
Era of Sri Vikramaditya 1,026. To this number you add the
years which have elapsed of the current
shashtyabda or sexagesimal samvatsara, and the sum is the correspond¬
ing year of the era of Vikramaditya. ...
The epoch of the era of Saka or Sakakala falls 135 years later than
that of Vikramaditya. The here-mentioned Saka tyrannised over
their country between the river Sindh
The Sakakala and the ocean, after he had made
Aryavarta in the midst of this realm his
dwelling-place. He interdicted the Hindus from considering and
representing themselves as anything but Sakas. Some maintain that
he was a Sudra from the city of Almansura; others maintain that he
was not a Hindu at all, and that he had come to India from the west.
The Hindus had much to suffer from him, till at last they received
help from the east, when Vikramaditya marched against him, put
him to fight and killed him in the region of Karur, between Multan
and the castle of Loni. Now this date became famous, as people
rejoiced in the news of the death of the tyrant, and was used as the
epoch of an era, especially by the astronomers. They honour the
conqueror by adding Sri to his name, so as to say Sri Vikramaditya.
Since there is a long interval between the era which is called the era
of Vikramaditya and the killing of Saka, we think that Vikramaditya
from whom the era has got its name is not identical with that one who
killed Saka, but only a namesake of his.
The era of Valabha is called so from Valabha, the ruler of the town
Valabhi, nearly 30 yojanas south of Anhilvara. The epoch of this era
falls 241 years later than the epoch of
Era of Valabha the Saka era. People use it in this way.
They first put down the year of the
Sakakala, and then subtract from it the cube of 6 and the square of 5
(216 + 25 = 241). The remainder is the year of the Valabha era. The
history of Valabha is given in its proper place (cf. chap. xvii).
As regards the Guptakala, people say that the Guptas were
wicked, powerful people, and that when they ceased to exist this date
192
India by Al-Biruni
Guptakala
was used as the epoch of an era. It
seems that Valabha was the last of
them, because the epoch of the era of
the Guptas falls, like that of the Valabha era, 241 years later than
the Sakakala.
The era of the astronomers begins 587 years later then the Sakakala.
On this era is based the canon Khanda-
Era of the astronomers khadyaka by Brahmagupta, which
among Muhammadans is known as A l-
arkand. . ..
Common people in India date by the years of a centennium, which
they call samvatsara. If a centennium is finished, they drop it* and
simply begin to date by a new one. This
On the popular mode of era j s called lokakala i.e.,the era of the
™l b L“ ntenn ' a ° f nation at large. But of this era people
give such totally different accounts, that
I have no means of making out the truth. In a similar manner they
also differ among themselves regarding the beginning of the year. On
the latter subject I shall communicate what I have heard myself,
hoping meanwhile that one day we shall be able to discover a rule in
this apparent confusion.
[The different beginnings of the year, as current in the different
parts of the country, are given Pp. 8-9].
I have already before excused myself on account of the imper¬
fection of the information given in this chapter. For we cannot offer
a strictly scientific account of the eras
Popular mode of dating in to which it is devoted, simply because in
3SS*. £*2““ *”“ them we have to reckon with periods of
time far exceeding a centennium, and
because all tradition of events farther back than a hundred years is
confused. ...
The Hindus had kings residing in Kabul; Turks who were said to
be of Tibetan origin. The first of them, Barhatakin, came into the
country and entered a cave in Kabul,
Origin Of the dynasty of wh i c h none could enter except by
the Shahs of Kabul . , t .
creeping on hands and knees. The cave
had water, and besides he deposited their victuals for a certain
number of days. It is still known in our time, and is called Var. People
who consider the name of Barhatakin as a good omen enter the cave,
and bring out some of its water with great trouble.
Description of the Eras
193
Certain troops of peasants were working before the door of the
cave. Tricks of this kind can only be carried out and become
notorious, if their author has made a secret arrangement with some¬
body else—in fact, with confederates. Now these had induced
persons to work there continually day and night in turns, so that the
place was never empty of people.
Some days after he had entered the cave, he began to creep out of
it in the presence of the people, who looked on him as a new-born
baby. He wore Turkish dress, a short tunic open in front, a high hat,
boots and arms. Now people honoured him as a being of miraculous
origin, who had been destined to be king and in fact he brought those
countries under his sway and ruled them under the title of a shahiya of
Kabul. The rule remained among his descendants for generations, the
number of which is said to be about sixty.
Unfortunately the Hindus do not pay much attention to the
historical order of things, they are very careless in relating the
chronological succession of their kings, and when they are pressed
for information and are at a loss, not knowing what to say, they
invariably take to tale-telling. But for this, we should communicate
to the reader the traditions which we have received from some
people among them. I have been told that the pedigree of this royal
fanjily, written on silk, exists in the fortress Nagarkot, and I much
desired to make myself acquainted with it, but the thing was
impossible for various reasons.
[There follows a story about how one of the rulers of this dynasty,
Kanik, ‘who is said to have built the vihara of Purushavar’ was
imprisoned and displaced by his Vazir. ‘After him’ ruled the
Brahman kings.]
The last king of this race was Lagaturman, and his Vazir was
Kallar, a Brahman. The latter had been fortunate, insofar as he had
found by accident hidden treasures,
which gave him much influence and
power. In consequence, the last king of
this Tibetan house, after it had held the
royal power for so long a period, let it by degrees slip from his hands.
Besides, Lagaturman had bad manners and a worse behaviour, on
account of which people complained of him greatly to the Vazir.
Now the Vazir put him in chains and imprisoned him for correction,
but then he himself found ruling sweet, his riches enabled him to
carry out his plans, and so he occupied the royal throne. After him
End of the Tibetan
dynasty, and origin of
the Brahman dynasty
194
India by Al-lliruni
ruled the Brahman kings Samand 1 '’ (Samanta), Kamalu, Bhim
(Bhima), Jaipal (Jayapala), Anandapala, Tarojanapala (Trilocana-
pala). The latter >vas killed A.H. 412 (A.D. 1021), and his son
Bhimapala five years later (A.D. 1026).
This Hindu Shahiya dynasty is now extinct, and of the whole
house there is no longer the slightest remnant in existence. We must
say that, in all their grandeur, they never slackened in the ardent
desire of doing that which is good and right, that they were men of
noble sentiment and noble bearing. I admire the following passage in
a letter of Anandapala, which he wrote to the prince Mahmud, when
the relations between them were already strained to the utmost: “I
have learned that the Turks have rebelled against you and arc
spreading in Khurasan. If you wish, I shall come to you with 5.000
horsemen, 10,000 foot-soldiers, and 100 elephants, or, if you wish,
I shall send you my son with double the number. In acting thus, I do
not speculate on the impression which this will make on you. I have
been conquered by you, and therefore I do not wish that another man
should conquer you.”
The same prince cherished the bitterest hatred against the
Muhammadans from the time when his son was made a prisoner,
whilst his son Tarojanapala (Trilocanapala) was the very opposite of
his father.
CHAPTER L
How Many Star-Cycles There Are Both In A
“Kalpa” And In A “Caturyuga”
It is one of the conditions of a kalpa that in it the planets, with their
apsides and nodes, must unite in 0° of Aries, i.e. in the point of the
vernal equinox. Therefore each planet makes within a kalpa certain
number of complete revolutions or cycles.
These star-cycles as known through the canon of Alfazari and
Ya’kub Ibn Tarik, were derived from a Hindu who came to Bagdad
as a member of the political mission
ail'd YaSbn which Sindh sent to the Khalif Almansur
A.H. 154 (= A.D. 771). If we compare
these secondary statements with the primary statements of the
Hindus, we discover discrepancies, the cause of which is not known
to me. Is their origin due to the translation of Alfazari and Ya’kub?
Or to the dictation of that Hindu? Or to the fact that afterwards these
computations have been corrected by Brahmagupta, or someone
else? For, certainly, any scholar who
becomes aware of mistakes in astrono¬
mical computations and takes an interest
in the subject, will endeavour to correct them, as, e.g. Muhammad
Ibn Ishak of Sarakhs has done. ...
Muhammad Ibn
Ishak of Sarakhs
196
India by Al-Biruni
Brahmagupta relates a different theory regarding the cycles of the
apsides and nodes of the moon, on the authority of Aryabhata. We
quote this from Brahmagupta, for we
Brahmagupta U ° ted by could not read it in the original work of
Aryabhata, but only in a quotation in
the work of Brahmagupta.
[A Table showing the names of the planets, the number of their
revolutions in a kalpa, and the number of the revolutions of their
apsides and nodes, is given, p. 16].
... Alfazari and Ya’kub sometimes heard from their Hindu
master expressions to this effect, that his calculation of the star
cycles was that of the great Siddhanta,
A^abhatta‘among oTeTrabs whllst Aryabhata reckoned with one-
thousandth part of it. They apparently did
not understand him properly, and imagined that Aryabhata (Arab,
arjabhad) meant a thousandth part. The Hindus pronounce the <1 of this
word something between a d and an r. So the consonant became
changed to an >, and people wrote arjabhar. Afterwards it was still
more mutilated, the first r being changed toa; and so people wrote
azjabhar. If the word in this garb wanders back to the Hindus, they
will not recognise it. ...
CHAPTER LI
An Explanation Of The Terms “Adhimasa”
“Unaratra”, And The “Aharganas”, As
Representing Different Sums Of Days
The months of the Hindus are lunar, their years solar; therefore their
new year’s day must in each solar year fall by so much earlier as the
lunar year is shorter than the solar
On the leap month (roughly speaking, by eleven days). If
this precession makes up one complete
month, they act in the same way as the Jews, who make the year a
leap year of thirteen months by reckoning the month Adar twice, and
in a similar way to the heathen Arabs, who in a so-called annus
procrastinationis postponed the new year’s day, thereby extending the
preceding year to the duration of thirteen months.
The Hindus call the year in which a month is repeated in the
common language malamasa. Mala means the dirt that clings to the
hand. As such dirt is thrown away, thus the leap month is thrown
away out of the calculation, and the number of the months of a year
remains twelve. However, in the literature the leap month is called
adhimasa.
That month is repeated within which (it being considered as a
solar month) two lunar months finish. If the end of the lunar month
198
India by Al-Bimni
coincides with the beginning of the solar month, if, in fact, the former
ends before any part of the latter has elapsed, this month is repeated,
because the end of the lunar month, although it has not yet run into
the new solar, still does no longer form part of the preceding month.
If a month is repeated, the first time it has its ordinary name,
whilst the second time they add before the name the word dura to
distinguish between them. If, e.g. the month Ashadha is repeated, the
first is called Ashadha, the second Durashadha. The first month is that
which is disregarded in the calculation. The Hindus consider it as
unlucky, and do not celebrate any of the festivals in it which they
celebrate in the other months. The most unlucky time in this month
is that day on which the lunation reaches its end. ...
As regards adhimasa , the word means the first month , for AD means
beginning (i.e. adi). In the books of Ya kub Ibn Tank and of Alfazari
this name is written Padamasa, Pada (in the orig. P-Dh) means end,
and it is possible that the Hindus call the leap month by both names;
but the reader must be aware that these two authors frequently mis¬
spell or disfigure the Indian words, and that there is no reliance on
their tradition. I only mention this because Pulisa explains the latter
of the two months, which are called by the same name, as the super¬
numerary one.
The month, as the time from one conjunction to the following, is
one revolution of the moon, which revolves through the ecliptic, but
in a course distant from that of the sun.
Explanation of the terms This i s the difference between the
anddayi ° r m ° nthS motions of the two heavenly luminaries,
whilst the direction in which they move
is the same. If we subtract the revolutions of the sun, i.e. the solar
cycles of a kalpa, from its lunar cycles, the remainder shows how
many more lunar months a kalpa has than solar months. All months
or days which we reckon as parts of whole kalpa s we call here
universal, and all months or days which we reckon as parts of a kalpa.
e.g. of a caturyuga, we call partial, for the purpose of simplifying the
terminology.
The year has twelve solar months, and likewise twelve lunar
months. The lunar is complete with twelve months, whilst the solar
year, in consequence of the difference
Universal adhimasa months of the two year kinds, has, with the
addition of the adhimasa, thirteen
months. Now evidently the difference between the universal solar
Explanation oj Adhimasa, Unaratra and Aharganas
199
and lunar months is represented by these sup.mume,ary mo„,hs b,
which a single year is extended to thirteen months. These, therefore,
are the universal adhimasa months. ...
Regarding the cause which necessitates the unaratra. lit. the days
Explanation of ,h„ » 4 * *° *»"*' **
uimralra following.
If we have one year or a certain number of years, and reckon for
each of them twelve months, we get the corresponding number ot
solar months, and by multiplying the latter by 30, the corresponding
number of the solar days. It is evident that lunar months or days o
the same period is the same, plus an increase which forms one or
several adhimasa months. If we reduce this increase to adhirmsa
months due to the period of time in question, according to the
relation between the universal solar months and the umvers
adhimasa months, and add this to the months or days of the years m
question, the sum represents the partial lunar days, i.e. those wh
correspond to the given number of years. .
This however, is not what is wanted. What we want is the numbe
of civil days of the given number of years which arc less than the lunar
days; for one civil day is greater than one lunar day. Therefore, in
order to find that which is sought, we must subtract something from
the number of lunar days, and this element which must be substract-
ed is called unaratra. ... ‘
CHAPTER LII
On The Calculation Of “Ahargana” In General
That Is, The Resolution Of Years And Months
Into Days, And, Vice Versa, The Composition
Of Years And Months Out Of Days
The general method of resolution is as follows:—
The complete years are multiplied by 12; to the product are added
the months which have elapsed of the current year (and this sum is
^ , , multiplied by 30); to this product are
find the savanahargana added the days which have elapsed of
the current month. The sum represents
the savanahargana, i.e. the sum of the partial solar days.
You write down the number in two places. In the one place you
multiply it by 5311, i.e. the number which represents the universal
adhimasa months. The product you divide by 172,800, i.e. the
number which represents the universal solar months. The quotient
you get, as far as it contains complete days, is added to the number
in the second place, and the sum represents the candrahargana, i.e. the
sum of the partial lunar days.
The latter number is again written down in two different places. In
the one place you multiply it by 55,739, i.e. the number which
On the Calculation of Ahargana in General
201
More detailed rule for
the same purpose
represents the universal unaratra days, and divide the product by
3,562,220, ie. the number which represents the universal lunar days.
The quotient you get, as far as it represents complete days, is
subtracted from the number written in the second place, and the
remainder is the savanahargana, i.e. the sum of civil days which we
wanted to find.
However, the reader must know that this computation applies to
dates in which there are only complete adhimasa and unaratra days,
without any fraction. If, therefore a
given number of years commences with
the beginning of a kalpa, or a caturyuga,
or a kaliyuga, this computation is correct. But if the given years begin
with some other time, it may by chance happen that this comput¬
ation is correct, but possibly, too, it may result in proving the
existence of adhimasa time, and in that case the computation would
not be correct. Also, the reverse of these two eventualities may take
place. However, if it is known with what particular moment in the
kalpa, caturyuga, or kaliyuga, a given number of years commences, we
use a special method of computation, which we shall hereafter
illustrate by some examples.
[The following points are dicussed in the remaining portion of the
chapter: (a) the latter method applied to (i) the Sakakala 953, (ii) a
caturyuga, according to the theory of Pulisa, (b) the method of
ahargana employed by Aryabhatta and by Ya’qub Ibn Tariq, (c)
method for the computation of the unaratra days according to
Brahmagupta, (d) method for the calculation of adhimasa for the
years of a kalpa, caturyuga or kaliyuga, and (e) rules for constructing a
chronological date from a certain given number of days, the converse
of ahargana. Pp. 28-45.]
CHAPTER LIII
On The Ahargana, Or The Resolution Of Years
Into Months, According To Special Rules
Which Are Adopted In The Calendars For
Certain Dates Or Moments Of Time
Not all the eras which in the calendars are resolved into days have
epochs falling at such moments of time when just an adhimasa or
unaratra happens to be complete. There-
applied tcf specfaTdates fore - the authors of the calendars
require for the calculation of adhimasa
and unaratra certain numbers which either must be added or
subtracted if the calculation is to proceed in good order. We shall
communicate to the reader whatever of these rules we happened to
learn by the study of their calendars or astronomical handbooks.
First, we mention the rule of the Khandakhadyaka, because this
calendar is the best known of all, and preferred by the astronomers to
all others.
[Al-Biruni explains the rule of the Khandakhadyaka, which work
was ‘preferred by the astronomers to all others’ as also that of some
other astronomical works and examines their application to the
gauge year adopted by him. Pp. 46-56.]
CHAPTER LIV
On The Computation Of The Mean Places
Of The Planets
If we know the number of cycles of the planets in a kalpa or caturyuga,
and further know how many cycles have elapsed at a certain moraen
of time, we also know that the sum-total
General method for the deter- Q f the days of the kalpa or caturyuga
mination of the mean place of tan( j s : n the same relation to the sum-
a planet at any g.ven Ume ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
kalpa or caturyuga to the corresponding amount of planetary cycles.
The most generally used method is this:
The past days of the kalpa or caturyuga are multiplied by the eye es
of the planet, or of its apsis, or of its node which it describes l "^
kalpa or caturyuga. The product is divided by the sum-total of the days
of the kalpa or caturyuga accordingly as you reckon by the one or the
other. The quotient represents complete cycles. These, howeve ,
because not wanted, are disregarded. ... .. .,
The remainder which you get by the division is multiplied by 12,
and the product is divided by the sum-total of the days of either
or caturyuga by which we have already once divided. The quotient
signs of .he ecliptic. The .encoder of >h.s dms,on .
multiplied by 30, and the product divided by the same divisor. The
204
India by Al-Biruni
quotient represents degrees. The remainder of this division is
multiplied by 60, and is divided by the same divisor. The quotient
represents minutes.
This kind of computation may be continued if we want to have
seconds and minor values. The quotient represents the place of that
planet according to its mean motion, or the place of that apsis or that
node which we >vanted to find.
[Mentions the method of Pulisa for the same purpose. Also
mentions another method used by Brahmagupta and quotes extracts
from Khandakhadyaka, Karanatilaka, etc. pp 58-60. Al-Biruni con¬
cludes by observing that,]
... But these methods are very subtle, and are so numerous, that
none of them has obtained any particular authority. Therefore, we
refrain from reproducing them, as this would detain us too long and
be of no use.
The other methods of the computation of the mean places of the
planets and similar calculations have nothing to do with the subject
of the present book.
CHAPTER LV
Traditional view on the sun
being below the moon
On The Order Of The Planets, Their
Distances And Sizes
When speaking of the lokas, we have already given quotation from
the Vishnu-Purana and from the commentary of Patanjali, according
to which the place of the sun is in the
order of the planets below that of the
moon. This is the traditional view of the
Hindus. ... , .
We shall now give some quotations from the books of this school
relating to the sun, the moon and the stars, and we shall combine
herewith the views of the astronomers, although of the latter we have
only a very slender knowledge.
[Quotes the Vayu-Purana regarding the shape of the sun, its heat,
light, etc. Pp. 62-64.]
The Hindus believe regarding the bodies of all the stars that
they have a globular shape, a watery essence, and that they do not
shine, whilst the sun aloft is of fiery
On the nature of the stars .essence, self-shining, and per accidens
illuminates other stars when they stand
opposite to him. They reckon, according to eyesight, among the stars
also such luminous bodies as in reality are not stars, but the lights
206
India by Al-Biruni
into which those men have been metamorphosed who have received
eternal reward from God, and reside in the height of heaven on
thrones of crystal. ...
All the stars are called tara, which word is derived from tarana, i.e.
the passage. The idea is that those saints have passed through the
wicked world and have reached bliss, and that the stars pass through
heaven in a circular motion. The word nakshatra is limited to the stars
of the lunar stations. As, however, all of these are called fixed stars,
the word nakshatra also applies to all the fixed stars; for it means not
increasing and not decreasing I for my part am inclined to think that this
increasing and decreasing refers to their number and to the distances
of the one from the other, but the author of the last-mentioned book
( Vishnu-Dharma ) combines it with their light.
[Quotes from various Indian scriptures regarding the diameters of
the planets and the circumference of the fixed stars (pp. 65-66), and
observes,]
This is all we have been able to learn of the confused notions of
the Hindus regarding these subjects. We shall now pass on to the
views of the Hindu astronomers with
Views of the Hindu whom we agree regarding the. order of
subjects the planets and other topics, viz. that
the sun is the middle of the planets,
Saturn and the moon their two ends, and that the fixed stars are
above the planets. Some of these things have already been
mentioned in the preceding chapters. ...
Every educated man among the Hindu theologians, and much
more so among their astronomers, believes indeed that the moon is
below the sun, and even below all the planets.
The only Hindu traditions we have regarding the distances of the
stars are those mentioned by Ya’kub Ibn Tarik in his book, The
Composition of the Spheres, and he had
drawn his information from the well-
known Hindu scholar who, A.H. 161,
accompanied an embassy to Bagdad.
[A Table giving the names of the planets and showing their
distances from the centre of the earth, their diameters, etc. is given.
P. 68.]
It is well-known among all astronomers that there is no possibility
of distinguishing between the higher and the lower one of two planets
except by means of the occultation or the increase of the parallax.
Ya’kub Ibn Tank on the
distances of the stars
On the Order of the Planets, Their Distances and Sizes 207
However, the occultation occurs only
On occultation and ver y seldom, and only the parallax of a
the parallax s [ ng i e planet, viz. the moon, can be
observed Now the Hindus believe that the motions are equal, but
the distances different. The reason why the higher planet moves
more slowly than the lower is the greater extension of its sphere (or
orbit); and the reason why the lower planet moves more rapidly is
that its sphere or orbit is less extended. Thus, e.g. one minute in the
sphere of Saturn is equal to 262 minutes in the sphere of the moon.
Therefore, the times in which Saturn and the moon traverse the same
space are different, whilst their motions are equal.
I have never found a Hindu treatise on this subject, but only
numbers relating thereto scattered in various books—numbers which
are corrupt. .
[In the remaining portion of the chapter, Al-Birum discusses the
following points: (a) radii of the planets or their distances from the
earth, (b) diameters of the planets, (c) methods for the computation
of the bodies of the sun and the moon at any given time, (d) Brahma¬
gupta’s method for the computation of the diameter of the shadow,
and (e) the computation of the diameters of the sun and the moon
according to some other Indian sources. Pp. 70—80.]
CHAPTER LVI
On The Stations Of The Moon
The Hindus use the lunar stations exactly in the same way as the
zodiacal signs. As the ecliptic is, by the zodiacal signs, divided into
„ twelve equal parts, so, by the lunar
lunar stations stations, it is divided into twenty-seven
equal parts. Each station occupies 13W
degrees, or 800 minutes of the ecliptic. The planets enter into them
and leave them again, and wander to and fro through their northern
and southern latitudes. The astrologers attribute to each station a
special nature, the quality of foreboding events, and other particular
characteristic traits, in the same way as they attribute them to the
zodiacal signs.
The number 27 rests on the fact that the moon passes through the
whole ecliptic in 27W days, in which number the fraction of Vi may
be disregarded. In a similar way, the
Lunar stations of the Arabs Arabs determine their lunar stations as
beginning with the moon’s first becom¬
ing visible in the west till her ceasing to be visible in the east. ...
However, the Arabs are illiterate people, who can neither write
nor reckon. They only rely upon numbers and eyesight. They have
no other medium of research than eyesight, and are not able to
On the Stations of the Moon
209
determine the lunar stations without the fixed stars in them. If the
Hindus want to describe the single stations, they agree with the
AraJ>s regarding certain stars, whilst regarding others they differ
from them. On the whole, the Arabs keep near to the moon’s path,
and use, in describing the stations, only those fixed stars with which
the moon either stands in conjunction at certain times, or through the
immediate neighbourhood of which she passes.
The Hindus do not strictly follow the same line, but also take into
account the various positions of one star with reference to the other,
e.g. one star’s standing in opposition or
Whether the Hindus have j n the zenith of another. Besides, they
lunar stations reckon also the Falling Eagle among
the stations, so as to get 28.
It is this which has led our astronomers and the authors of ’ anwa
books astray; for they say that the Hindus have twenty-eight lunar
stations, but that they leave out one which is always covered by the
rays of the sun. Perhaps they may have heard that the Hindus call
that station in which the moon is, the burning one; that station which it
has just left, the left one after the embrace; and that station in which she
will enter next, the smoking one. Some of our Muslim authors have
maintained that the Hindus leave out the station Al-zubana, and
account for it by declaring that the moon’s path is burning in the end
of Libra and the beginning of Scorpio.
All this is derived from one and the same source, viz. their opinion
that the Hindus have twenty-eight stations, and that under certain
circumstances they drop one. Whilst just the very opposite is the
case; they have twenty-seven stations, and under certain circum¬
stances add one. ...
The Hindus are very little informed regarding the fixed stars. I
never came across any one of them who knew the single stars of the
lunar stations from eyesight, and was
Table of the lunar stations able to point them out to me with his
taken from the Khanda- ^
khadyaka fingers. I have taken the greatest pains
to investigate this subject, and to settle
most of it by all sorts of comparisons, and have recorded the results
of my research in a treatise on the determination of the lunar stations. Of
their theories on this subject I shall mention as much as I think
suitable in the present context. But before that I shall give the posi¬
tions of the stations in longitude and latitude and their numbers
according to the canon Khandakhadyaka, facilitating the study of the
210
India by Al-Biruni
subject by comprehending all details in the following Table:
[Table is given. Pp. 84-85.]
My remark relating to the confused notions of the Hindus
regarding the stars is confirmed, though this is perhaps not apparent
to the Hindus themselves, e.g. by the
The author criticises Vara- note of Varahamihira regarding Alsha-
hamihira s statement . . ~ j
ratan = Asvini, one of the first-mentioned
six stations; for he says that in it observation precedes calculation.
Now the two stars of Asvini stand, in our time, in two-thirds of Aries
(i.e. between 10°-20° Aries), and the time of Varahamihira
precedes our time by about 526 years. Therefore by whatever theory
you may compute the motion of the fixed stars (or precession of the
equinoxes), the Asvini did, in his time, certainly not stand in less
than one-third of Aries (i.e. they had not come in the precession of
the equinoxes farther than to 1® -10° Aries).
[Al-Biruni also criticises what he regards as the ‘scantiness of the
knowledge of the Hindus regarding the motion of the fixed stars’, and
as an example of it he quotes an extract from Varahamihira’s
Samhita. Pp. 88—89.]
CHAPTER LVII
On The Heliacal Risings Of The Stars, And
On The Ceremonies And Rites Which The
Hindus Practise At Such A Moment
The Hindu method for the computation of the heliacal risings of the
stars and the young moon is, as we think, the same as is explained
in the canones called Sindhind. They call
How far a star must be the degrees of a star’s distance from the
order to become visible sun which are thought necessary for its
heliacal rising kalamsaka.
Evidently the stars have, in this respect, been divided into three
groups, the first of which seems to comprise the stars reckoned by
the Greeks as stars of the first and second magnitude, the second the
stars of the third and fourth magnitude, and the third the stars of the
fifth and sixth magnitude.
Brahmagupta ought to have given this classification in his
emendation of the Khandakhadyaka, but he has not done so. He
expresses himself in general phrases, and simply mentions 14°
distance from the sun as necessary for the heliacal risings of all lunar
stations.
[The method for the computation of the heliacal rising of Agastya,
i.e. Suhail or Canopus is given; also extracts from Brahmagupta’s
212
India by Al-Biruni
emendation of the Khandakhadyaka. P. 91.]
The book Sarnhita mentions certain sacrifices and ceremonies
which are practised at the heliacal risings of various stars. We shall
now record them, translating also that
0n the ceremonies practised which is rather chaff than wheat since
at the heliacal rising of . , .
certain stars we have made it obligatory on ourselves
to give the quotations from the books of
the Hindus complete and exactly as they are.
[Long extracts from Varahamihira’s on the heliacal risings of
Agastya, Rohini, Svati and Sravana, and the appropriate sacrifices
for the occasion. Pp. 92-100.]
CHAPTER LVIII
How Ebb And Flow Follow Each Other
In The Ocean
| The chapter begins by quoting the story of King Aurva from the
Matsya-Rurana ‘with regard to the cause why the water of the ocean
remains as it is.’ The king had become very angry with the angels but
was later conciliated and advised to throw ‘the fire of his wrath’ in
the ocean. The fire absorbs the water and keeps it from overflowing.
Then follows the story of Prajapati’s curse upon moon and its
affliction with leprosy. Later, the moon repented and sought Praja¬
pati’s favour in getting the trace of the sin wiped off. Prajapati said
that it could be done by erecting the shape of the linga of Mahadeva
as an object of the moon’s worship. That was done and the linga
raised was the stone of Somanath.
Al-Biruni then, in a very rare reference to a political event,
mentions the destruction of the Somanath temple by Sultan Mahmud.
More important is the reference to the economic basis of the
importance of Somanath—it being an important port used by the
merchants trading with the people on the eastern African coast and
with that of China, Pp. 101-102.)
... soma means the moon and nut ha means master, so that the
whole word [Somanath] means master of the moon The image was
214
India by Al-Biruni
The idol of Somanath
destroyed by the Prince Mahmud—
may God be merciful to him!—A.H.
416. He ordered the upper part to be
broken and the remainder to be transported to his residence,
Ghaznin, with all its coverings and trappings of gold, jewels, and
embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the hippo¬
drome of the town, together with the Cakrasvarnin , an idol of bronze,
that had been brought from Taneshar. Another part of the idol from
Somanath lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznin, on which
people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet.
The linga is an image of the penis of Mahadeva, as follows:
[Al-Biruni then interjects a brief
Origin of the linga account of the origin of the linga and the
specifications regarding its construction,
as given in Varahamihira’s Brihatsamhita.]
In the south-west of the Sindh country this idol is frequently met
with in the houses destined for the worship of the Hindus, but
Somanath was the most famous of these
of 1 Somanath ° f the ‘ do1 places. Every day they brought there a
jug of Ganges water and a basket of
flowers from Kashmir. They believed that the linga of Somanath
would cure persons of every inveterate illness and heal every
desperate and incurable disease.
The reason why in particular Somanath has become so famous is
that it was a harbour for seafaring people, and a station for those who
went to and fro between Sufala in the country of the Zanj and China.
Now as regards ebb and flow in the Indian Ocean, of which the
former is called bharna (?), the latter vuhara (?), we state that, accord¬
ing to the notions of the common
Hindus, there is a fire called Vadavanala
in the ocean, which is always blazing.
The flow is caused by the fire’s drawing breath and its being blown
up by the wind, and the ebb is caused by the fire’s exhaling the
breath and the cessation of its being blown up by the wind.
It is flow and ebb to which Somanath owes its name (i.e. master of
the moon); for the stone (or linga) of Somanath was originally
erected on the coast , a little less than three miles west of the mouth
of the river Sarsuti, east of the golden fortress Baroi, which had
Popular belief about the
cause of the tides
Origin of the sacredness
of Somanath
appeared as a dwelling-place for Vasu-
deva, not far from the place where he
215
How Ebb And Flow Follow Each Other
and his family were killed, and where they were burned. Each time
when the moon rises and sets, the water of the ocean rises in the
flood so as to cover the place in question. When, then, the moon
reaches the meridian of noon and midnight, the water recedes in the
ebb and the place becomes again visible. Thus the moon was per¬
petually occupied in serving the idol and bathing it. Therefore the
place was considered as sacred to the -moon. The fortress which
contained the idol and its treasures was not ancient, but was built
only about a hundred years ago. ...
CHAPTER LIX
On The Solar And The Lunar Eclipses
It is perfectly known to the Hindu astronomers that the moon is
eclipsed by the shadow of the earth, and the sun is eclipsed by the
moon. Hereon they have based their computations in the astro-
nomical handbooks and other works.
[Extracts from Varahamihira’s Samhita are quoted regarding the
explanations for the phenomena of solar and lunar eclipses. Varaha-
mihira is quoted as stating that “an eclipse of the moon is her
entering the shadow of the earth, and an eclipse of the sun consists in
this that the moon covers and hides the sun from us. Therefore the
lunar eclipse will never revolve from the west, nor the solar eclipse
from the east.” Varahamihira also refers to the popular, unscienti¬
fic notions about the eclipses, and states that, “However, common
people are always loud in proclaiming the Head to be the cause of an
eclipse, and they say, ‘If the Head did not appear and did not bring
about the eclipse, the Brahmans would not at that moment undergo
an obligatory washing.’”, (Pp. 107-09).
Al-Biruni expresses surprise as to why Varahamihira, who by his
former explanation had ‘already revealed himself to us as a man who
accurately knows the shape of the world’ was repeating such notions.
Perhaps, he did so because he wanted ‘to side with the Brahmans, to
On the Solar and the Lunar Eclipses
217
whom he belonged, and from whom he could not separate himself.
Still, he could not be blamed too much, as on the whole, his foot
stands firmly on the basis of truth’. ... p. 110.]
Al-Biruni then refers to the views of Brahmagupta on the eclipses,
and quotes the first chapter of Brahmasiddhanta as follows:—
“Some people think that the eclipse is not caused by the Head.
This, however, is a foolish idea, for it is he in fact who eclipses, and
the generality of the inhabitants of the
world say that it is the Head who
eclipses. The Veda, which is the word of
Quotation from the
Brahmasiddhanta
God from the mouth of Brahman, says that the Head eclipses, like¬
wise the book Smriti, composed by Manu, and the Samhita, composed
by Garga the son of Brahman. On the contrary, Varahamihira,
Srishena, Aryabhatta, and Vishnucandra maintain that the eclipse is
not caused by the Head, but by the moon and the shadow of the
earth, in direct opposition to all (to the generality of men), and from
enmity against the just-mentioned dogma. For if the Head does not
cause the eclipse, all the usages of the Brahmans which they practise
at the moment of an eclipse, viz. their rubbing themselves with warm
oil, and other works of prescribed worship, would be illusory and not
be rewarded by heavenly bliss. If a man declares these things to be
illusory, he stands outside of the generally acknowledged dogma,
and that is not allowed.”
[Al-Biruni again expresses surprise as to why Brahmagupta, who
was ‘certainly one of the most distinguished among their astronomers’
was reiterating such unscientific views, and remarks:]
Brahmagupta says, “The generality thinks thus. If he thereby
means the totality of the inhabitants of the inhabitable world, we can
only say that he would be very little able to investigate their opinions
either by exact research or by means of historical tradition. For
India itself is, in comparison to the whole inhabitable world, only a
small matter, and the number of those who differ from the Hindus,
both in religion and law, is larger than the number of those who agree
• with them.
Or, if Brahmagupta means the generality of the Hindus, we agree that
the uneducated among them are much more numerous than the
Possible excuses for
Brahmagupta
educated; but we also point out that in
all our religious codes of divine revela¬
tion the uneducated crowd is blamed as
being ignorant, always doubting, and ungrateful.
218
India by Al-Biruni
I, for my part, am inclined to the belief that that which made
Brahmagupta speak the above-mentioned words (which involve a sin
against conscience) was something of a calamitous fate, like that of
Socrates, which had befallen him, notwithstanding the abundance of
his knowledge and the sharpness of his intellect and notwithstanding
his extreme youth at the time. For he wrote the Bmhmasiddhanla
when he was only thirty years of age. If this indeed is his excuse, we
accept it, and herewith drop the matter. ...
[Al-Biruni also suggests a little earlier that Brahmagupta was
presenting such an unscientific explanation probably because, as
a Brahman, he was supporting the popular notions preached by
them. Or, maybe, by repeating those silly ideas he was mocking the
men who advocated them!).
CHAPTER LX
On The Parvan
The intervals between which an eclipse may happen and the
number of their lunations are sufficiently demonstrated in the
sixth chapter of Almagest. The Hindus
Explanation of the ca n a 0 f-time at the beginning
term paruan r
and end of which there occur lunar
eclipses, parvan
[Some information on the subject is quoted from Varahamihira’s
Samhita, and a Table showfng the cycle of eclipses and the ‘parti¬
cular dominant and prognostics’ of each one of them is given. On the
latter point, Al-Biruni comments that what Varahamihira says of the
astrological portents of the parvans does not ‘well suit his deep
learning.’
Rules for the computation of the parvan are quoted from the
Khandakhadyaka. Pp. 115-117.]
CHAPTER LXI
On The Domihants Of The Different Measures
Of Time In Both Religious And Astronomical
Relations, And On Connected Subjects
Duration, or time in general, only applies to the Creator as being his
age, and not determinable by a beginning and an end. In fact, it
is his eternity. They frequently call it the
soul, i.e. Purusha. But as regards
common time, which is determinable by
motion, the single parts of it apply to
Which of the different
measures of time have
dominants and which not
beings beside the Creator, and to natural phenomena beside the soul
Thus Kalpa is always used in relation to Brahman, for it is his day
and night, and his life is determined by it.
Each manavantcua has a special dominant called Manu, who is
described by special qualities, already mentioned in a former
chapter. On the other hand, I have never heard anything of
dominants of the caturyugas or yugas.
[ Al-Biruni mentions the rules for the computation of the dominant
of the year and the month, as given in the Khandakhadyaka, ‘the most
universally used among them.’ Also gives Tables showing the
dominants of the planets according to Vishnu-Dharma. Pp. 119-122.]
I
CHAPTER LXII
On The Sixty Years—Samvatsara, Also
Called “Shashtyabda”
The word samavatsara, which means the years, is a technical term for
cycles of years constructed on the basis of the revolutions of Jupiter
and the sun, the heliacal rising of the
™°and f former bein 8 reckoned as the beginning.
It revolves in sixty years, and is there¬
fore called shashtyabda, i.e. sixty years. .. .
The great yugas begin with the heliacal rising of Jupiter in the
beginning of the station Dhanishtha and the beginning of the month
Magha. The small yugas have within the
great ones a certain order, being divided
into groups which comprehend certain
numbers of years, and each of which has a special dominant. This
division is represented by the following Table. ...
[Table given on p. 125.]
Further, every single one of the sixty years has a name of its own,
and the yugas , too, have names which
The names of the single .1 c ,, . , . A n
years of a mmvalsnra are the names of their dominants. All
these names are exhibited in the follow¬
Smaller cycles as contained
in the cycle of sixty years
ing Table.
222
India by Al-Birum
This Table is to be used in the same way as the preceding one, as
you find the name of each year of the whole cycle (of sixty years)
under the corresponding number. It would be a lengthy affair if we
were to explain the meanings of the single names and their
prognostics. All this is found in the book Samhita.
[Table given on pp. 127-28.]
When I heard, among these pretended names of samvastras, names
of nations, trees, and mountains, I conceived a suspicion of my
reporters, more particularly as their chief business was indeed to
practise hocus-pocus and deception (as jugglers ?);... I used great
care in examining every single one of them, in repeating the same
questions at different times, in a different order and context. But \o[i
what different answers did I get! God is all-wise!
CHAPTER LXIII
On That Which Especially Concerns The
Brahmans, And What They Are Obliged To
Do During Their Whole Life
The life of the Brahman, after seven years of it have passed, is
divided into four parts. The first part begins with the eighth year,
when the Brahmans come to him to
First period in the instruct him, to teach him his duties,
and to enjoin him to adhere to them and
to embrace them as long as he lives. Then they bind a girdle round
his waist and invest him with a pair of yajnopavitas, i.e. one strong
cord consisting of nine single cords which are twisted together, and
with a third yajnopavita, a single one made from cloth. This girdle
runs from the left shoulder to the right hip. Further, he is presented
with a stick which he has to wear, and with a seal-ring of a certain
grass, called darbha, which he wears on the ring-finger of the right
hand. This seal-ring is also called pavitra. The object of his wearing
the ring on the ring-finger of his right hand is this, that it should be a
good omen and a blessing for all those who receive gifts from that
hand. The obligation for wearing the ring is not quite so stringent as
that of wearing the yajnopavita , for from the latter he is not to separate
himself under any circumstances whatever. If he takes it off while
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India by Al-Biruni
eating or fulfilling some want of nature, he thereby commits a sin
which cannot be wiped off save by some work of expiation, fasting,
or almsgiving.
This first period of the Brahman’s life extends till the twenty-fifth
year of his age, or according to the Vishnu-Purana, till his forty-eighth
year. His duty is to practise abstinence, to make the earth his bed, to
begin with the learning of the Veda and of its explanation of the
science of theology and law, all this being taught to him by a master
whom he serves day and night. He washes himself thrice a day, and
performs a sacrifice to the fire both at the beginning and end of the
day. After the sacrifice he worships his master. He fasts a day and he
breaks fast a day, but he is never allowed to eat meat. He dwells in
the house of the master, which he only leaves in order to ask for a gift
and to beg in not more than five houses once a day, either at noon or
in the evening. Whatever alms he receives he places before his
master to choose from it what he likes. Then the master allows him
to take the remainder. Thus the pupil nourishes himself from the
remains of the dishes of his master. Further, he fetches the wood for
the fire, wood of two kinds of trees, palasa (Butea frondosa) and darbha,
in order to perform the sacrifice; for the Hindus highly venerate the
fire, and offer flowers to it. It is the same case with all other nations.
They always thought that the sacrifice was accepted by the deity if
the fire came down upon it, and no other worship has been able to
draw them away from it, neither the worship of idols nor that of stars,
cows, asses, or images. Therefore Bashshar Ibn Burd says: “Since
there is fire, it is worshipped.”
The second period of their life extends from the twenty-fifth year
till the fiftieth, or, according to the Vishnu-Purana, till the seventieth.
0 , . J . t The master allows him to marry. He
Second period in the . x ... , , . . .
Brahman’s life marries, establishes a household, and
intends to have descendants, but he
cohabits with his wife only once in a month after she has become
clean of the 'menstruation. He is not allowed to marry a woman
above twelve years of age. He gains his sustenance either by the fee
he obtains for teaching Brahmans and Kshatriyas, not as a payment,
but as a present, or by presents which he receives from someone
because he performs for him the sacrifices to the fire, or by asking a
gift from the kings and nobles, there being no importunate pressing
on his part, and no unwillingness on the part of the giver. There is
always a Brahman in the houses of those people, who there
The Brahmans, What They are Obliged to Do 225
administers the affairs of religion and the works of piety. He is called
purohita. Lastly, the Brahman lives from what he gathers on the earth
or from the trees. He may try his fortune in the trade of clothes and
betel-nuts, but it is preferable that he should not trade himself, and
that a Vaisya should do the business for him, because originally
trade is forbidden on account of the deceiving and lying which are
mixed up with it. Trading is permitted to him only in case of dire
necessity, when he has no other means of sustenance. The Brahmans
are not, like the other castes, bound to pay taxe§‘ and to perform
services to the kings. Further, he is not allowed continually to busy
himself with horses and cows, with the care for the cattle, nor with
gaining by usury. The blue colour is impure for him, so that if it
touches his body, he is obliged to wash himself. Lastly, he must
always beat the drum before the fire, and recite for it the prescribed
holy texts.
The third period of the life of the Brahman extends from the
fiftieth year to the seventy-fifth, or, according to the Vishnu-Parana,
till the ninetieth. He practises abstinence,
The third period leaves his household, and hands it as
well as his wife over to his children,
if the latter does not prefer to accompany him into the life in the
wilderness. He dwells outside civilisation, and leads the same life
again which he led in the first period. He does not take shelter under
a roof, nor wear any other dress but some bark of a tree, simply
sufficient to cover his loins. He sleeps on the earth without any bed,
and only nourishes himself by fruit, vegetables, and roots. He lets
the hair grow long, and does not anoint himself with oil.
The fourth period extends till the end of life. He wears a red
garment and holds a stick in his hand. He is always given to medi¬
tation; he strips the mind of friendship
The fourth period and enmity, and roots out desire, and
lust, and wrath. He does not converse
with anybody at all. When walking to a place of a particular merit, in
order to gain a heavenly reward, he does not stop on the road in a
village longer than a day, nor in a city longer than five days. If any
one gives him something, he does not leave a remainder of it for the
following day. He has no other business but that of caring for the
path which leads to salvation, and for reaching moksha, whence there
is no return to this world.
The universal duties of the Brahman throughout his whole life are
226
India by Al-Biruni
The duties of Brahmans
in general
works of piety, giving alms and receiving them. For that which the
Brahmans give reverts to the pitaras (is
in reality a benefit to the Fathers). He
must continually read, perform the
sacrifices, take care of the fire which he lights, offer before it,
worship it, and preserve it from being extinguished, that he may be
burned by it after his death. It is called homa.
Every day he must wash himself thrice: at the samdhi of rising, i.e.
morning dawn, at the samdhi of setting, i.e. evening twilight, and
between them in the middle of the day: The first washing is on
account of sleep, because the openings of the body have become lax
during it. Washing is a cleansing from accidental impurity and a
preparation for prayer.
Their prayer consists of praise, glorification, and prostration
according to their peculiar manner, viz. prostrating themselves on
the two thumbs, whilst the two palms of the hands are joined, and
they turn their faces towards the sun. For the sun is their kibla,
wherever he may be, except when in the south. For they do not
perform any work of piety with the face turned southward; only when
occupied with something evil and unlucky they turn themselves
towards the south.
The time when the sun declines from the meridian (the afternoon)
is well suited for acquiring in it a heavenly reward. Therefore at this
time the Brahman must clean.
The evening is the time of supper and of prayer. The Brahman
may take his supper and pray without having previously washed
himself. Therefore, evidently, the rule as to the third washing is not
as stringent as that relating to the first and second washings.
A nightly washing is obligatory for the Brahman only at the times
of eclipses, that he should be prepared to perform the rules and
sacrifices prescribed for that occasion.
The Brahman, as long as he lives, eats only twice a day, at noon
and at nightfall; and when he wants to take his meal, he begins by
putting aside as much as is sufficient for one or two men as alms,
especially for strange Brahmans who happen to come at evening¬
time asking for something. To neglect their maintenance would be a
great sin. Further, he puts something aside for the cattle, the birds,
and the fire. Over the remainder he says prayers and eats it. The
remainder of his dish he places outside his house, and does not any
more come near it, as it is no longer allowable for him, being
227
The Brahmans, What They are Obliged to Do
destined for the chance passer-by who wants it, be he a man, bird,
dog, or something else.
The Brahman must have a water-vessel for himself. If another one
uses it, it is broken. The same remark applies to his eating-
instruments. I have seen Brahmans who allowed their relatives to eat
with them from the same plate, but most of them disapprove of this.
He is obliged to dwell between the river Sindh in the north and the
river Carmanvati in the south. He is not allowed to cross either of
these frontiers so as to enter the country of the Turks or of the
Kamata. Further, he must live between the ocean in the east and
west. People say that he is not allowed to stay in a country in which
the grass which he wears on the ring-finger does not grow, nor the
black-haired gazelles graze. This is a description for the whole
country within the just-mentioned boundaries. If he passes beyond
them he commits a sin. ...
In a country where not the whole spot in the house which is
prepared for people to eat upon it is plastered with clay, where they,
on the contrary, prepare a separate tablecloth for each person eating
by pouring water over a spot and plastering it with the dung of cows,
the shape of the Brahman’s tablecloth must be square. Those who
have the custom of preparing such tablecloths give the following as
the cause of this custom:—The spot of eating is soiled by the eating.
If the eating is finished, the spot is washed and plastered to become
clean again. If, now, the soiled spot is not distinguished by a separate
mark, you would suppose also the other spots to be soiled, since they
are similar to and cannot be distinguished from each other.
Five vegetables are forbidden to them by the religious code:
Onions, garlic, a kind of gourd, the root of a plant like the carrots
called kmcn (?), and another vegetable which grows round their tanks
called nah
CHAPTER LXIV
On The Rites And Customs Which The
Other Castes, Besides The Brahmans, Practise
During Their Lifetime
The Kshatriya reads the Veda and learns it, but does not teach it. He
offers to the fire and acts according to the rules of the Puranas.
In places where, as we have mentioned
Duties of the single castes ... a tablecloth is prepared for eating,
he makes it angular. He rules the people
and defends them, for he is created for this task. He girds himself
with a single cord of the threefold yajnopavita, and a single other cord
of cotton. This takes place after he has finished the twelfth year of
his life.
It is the duty of the Vaisya to practise agriculture and to cultivate
the land, to tend the cattle and to remove the needs of the Brahmans.
He is only allowed to gird himself with a single yajnopavita, which is
made of two cords.
The Sudra is like a servant to the Brahman, taking care of his
affairs and serving him. If, though being poor in the extreme, he still
desires not to be without a yajnopavita , he girds himself only with the
linen one. Every action which is considered as the privilege of a
Brahman, such as saying prayers, the recitation of the Veda, and
229
On the Rites and Customs of the Other Castes
offering sacrifices to the fire, is forbidden to him, to such a degree
that when, e.g.a Sudra or a Vaisya is proved to have recited the
Veda, he is accused by the Brahmans before the ruler, and the latter
will order his tongue to be cut off However, the meditation on God,
works of piety, and alms-giving are not forbidden to him.
Every man who takes to some occupation which is not allowed to
his caste, as, e.g. a Brahman to trade, a Sudra to agriculture,
commits a sin or crime, which they consider only a little less than
crime of theft. . „. . ...
[Al-Biruni then recounts one of the traditions of the Hindus, that
in the days of King Rama human life was very long and well-defined,
so that child never died before its father. Once, however, a son of a
Brahman predeceased his father. The father brought him to the
King’s palace, bewailing that there is something rotten in e
country. Then Rama began to inquire into the cause of this, and
finally they pointed out to him a Candala who took the greatest pain
in performing worship and self-torment. The Kin* rode to him and
found him on the banks of the Ganges, hanging on something with
his head downwards. The King bent his bow, shot at him, and pierced
his bowels. Then he spoke: “I kill thee on account of a good action
which thou are not allowed to do.” When the King returned to the
palace, he found the Brahman’s son alive.]
All other men except the Candala, as far as they are not Hindus,
are called mleccha, i.e. unclean, all those who kill men and slaughter
animals and eat the flesh of cows.
All these things originate in the difference of the classes or castes,
one set of people treating the others as fools. This apart all men
are equal to each other, as Vasudeva
Philosophic opinion about sa y S regarding him who seeks salvation:
all things being equal « In the judgment of the intelligent man,
the Brahman and the Candala are equal, the friend and the foe, the
faithful and the deceitful, nay, even the serpent and the weasel. If to
the eyes of intelligence all things are equal, to ignorance they appear
as separated and different. ..
CHAPTER LXV
On The Sacrifices
Most of the Veda treats of the sacrifices to the fire, and describes
each one of them. They are different in e^ftent, so that certain of them
can only be performed by the greatest of
Asvamedha their kings. So, e.g. the asvamedha.
A mare 37 is let freely to wander about
in the country grazing, without anybody’s hindering her. Soldiers
follow her, drive her, and cry out before her: “She is the king of the
world. He who does not agree, let him come forward.” The
Brahmans walk behind her and perform sacrifices to the fire where
she castes dung. When she thus has wandered about through all
parts of the world, she becomes food for the Brahmans and for him
whose property she is.
Further, the sacrifices differ in duration, so that only he could
perform certain of them who lives a very long life; and such long lives
do no longer occur in this our age. Therefore most of them have been
abolished, and only few of them remain and are practised nowadays.
According to the Hindus, the fire eats everything. Therefore it
becomes defiled, if anything unclean is mixed up with it, as e.g.
On the Sacrifices
231
water. Accordingly they are very punc-
On fire-offerings in general tilious regarding fire and water if they
are in the hands of non-Hindus, because
they are defiled by being touched by them.
That which the fire eats for its share, reverts to the Devas, because
the fire comes out of their mouths. What the Brahmans present to the
fire to eat is oil and different cereals—wheat, barley, and rice—
which they throw into the fire. Further, they recite the prescribed
texts of the Veda in case they offer on their own behalf. However, if
they offer in the name of somebody else, they do not recite anything.
[The story of the fire becoming leprous is narrated from the
Vishnu-Dharma. Pp. 140-141.]
CHAPTER LXVI
On Pilgrimage And The Visiting Of
Sacred Places
Pilgrimages are not obligatory to the Hindus, but facultative and meri¬
torious. A man sets off to wander to some holy region, to some much
venerated idol or to some of the holy rivers. He worships in them,
worships the idol, makes presents to it, recites many hymns and
prayers, fasts, and gives alms to the Brahmans, the priests, and
others. He shaves the hair of his head and beard, and returns home.
The holy, much venerated ponds are in the cold mountains round
Meru. . ..
We have already quoted Hindu traditions to the effect that in the
Dvipas there are rivers as holy as the Ganges. In every place to
which some particular holiness is
On the construction of »i_ j ri* j
holy ponds ascribed, the Hindus construct ponds
intended for the ablutions. In this they
have attained to a very high degree of art, so that our people (the
Muslims), when they see them, wonder at them, and are unable to
describe them, much less to construct anything like them. They build
them of great stones of an enormous bulk, joined to each other by
sharp and strong cramp-irons, in the form of steps (or terraces) like
so many ledges: and these terraces run all around the pond, reaching
On Pilgrimage and Visiting of Sacred Places
233
to a height of more than a man’s stature. On the surface of the stones
between two terraces they construct staircases rising like pinnacles.
Thus the first steps or terraces are like roads (leading round the
pond), and the pinnacles are steps (leading up and down). If ever so
many people descend to the pond whilst others ascend, they do not
meet each other, and the road is never blocked up, because there are
so many terraces, and the ascending person can always turn aside to
another terrace than that on which the descending people go. By this
arrangement all troublesome thronging is avoided.
In Multan there is a pond in which the Hindus worship by bathing
themselves, if they are not prevented. [Varahamihira’s Samhita is
quoted about a pond in Taneswar,
On single holy £onds which is regarded as very holy.)
The ponds become particularly famous for holiness either because
some important event has happened at them, or because there is
some passage in the holy text or tradition which refers to them. We
have already quoted words spoken by Saunaka. Venus had related
them to him on the authority of Brahman, to whom they had
originally been addressed. In this text King Bali also is mentioned,
and what he would do till the time when Narayana would plunge him
down to the lowest earth. In the same text occurs the following
passage:—“I do that to him only for
this purpose that the equality between
men, which he desires to realise, shall
be done away with, that men shall be
different in their conditions of life, and
that on this difference the order of the world is to be based; further,
that people shall turn away from his worship and worship me and
believe in me. The mutual assistance of civilised people presupposes
a certain difference among them, in consequence of which the one
requires the other. According to the same principle, God has created
the world as containing many differences in itself. So the single
countries differ from each other, one being cold, the other warm; one
having good soil, water, and air, the other having bitter salt soil, dirty
and bad smelling water, and unhealthy air. There are stilt more
differences of this kind; in some cases advantages of all kinds being
numerous, in others few. In some parts there are periodically return¬
ing physical disasters; in others they are entirely unknown. All these
things induce civilised people carefully to select the places where
they want to build towns.
On the inequality of created
beings and the origin of
patriotism. A tradition
from Saunaka
234
India by Al-Biruni
That which makes people do these things is usage and custom.
However, religious commands are much more powerful, and
influence much more the nature of man than usages and customs.
The bases of the latter are investigated, explored, and accordingly
either kept or abandoned, whilst the bases of the religious commands
are left as they are, not inquired into, adhered to by the majority
simply on trust. They do not argue over them, as the inhabitants of
some sterile region do not argue over it, since they are bom in it and
do not know anything else, for they love the country as their father-
land, and find it difficult to leave it. If, now, besides physical
differences, the countries differ from each other also in law and
religion, there is so much attachment to it in the hearts of those who
live in them that it can never be rooted out.”
The Hindus have some places which are venerated for reasons
connected with their law and religion, e.g. Benares (Baranasi). For
their anchorites wander to it and stay
On Benares as an asylum there for ever, as the dwellers of the
Ka’ba stay for ever in Mekka. They
want to live there to the end of their lives, that their reward after
death should be the better for it. They say that a murderer is held
responsible for his crime and punished with a punishment due to his
guilt, except in case he enters the city of Benares, where he obtains
pardon. ...
Another place of this kind is Taneshar, also called Kurukshetra, i.e.
the land of Kuru, who was a peasant, a pious, holy man, who worked
miracles by divine power. Therefore, the country was called after
him, and venerated for his sake. Besides, Taneshar is the theatre of
the exploits of Vasudeva in the wars of Bharata and of the destruc¬
tion of the evil-doers. It is for this reason that people visit the place.
Mahura, too, is a holy place, crowded with Brahmans. It is
venerated because Vasudeva was there bom and brought up, in a
place in the neighbourhood called Nandagola.
Nowadays the Hindus also visit Kashmir. Lastly, they used to
visit Multan before its idol-temple was destroyed.
CHAPTER LXVII
On Alms, And How A Man Must Spend
What He Earns
It is obligatory with them every day to give alms as much as possible.
They do not let money become a year or even a month old, for this
would be a draft on an unknown future, of which a man does not
*\
know whether he reaches it or not.
With regard to that which he earns by the crops or from the cattle,
he is bound first to pay the ruler of the country the tax which attaches
to the soil or the pasture-ground. Further, he pays him one-sixth of
the income in recognition of the protection which he affords to the
subjects, their property, and their families. The same obligation rests
also on the common people, but they will always lie and cheat in the
declarations about their property. Further, trading businesses,too,
pay a tribute for the same reason. Only the Brahmans are exempt
from all these taxes.
As to the way in which the remainder of the income, after the
taxes have been deducted, is to be employed, there are different
opinions. Some destine one-ninth of it for alms. For they divide it
into three parts. One of them is kept in reserve to guarantee the heart
against anxiety. The second is spent on trade to bring profit, and
one-third of the third portion (i.e. one-ninth of the whole) is spent on
236 India by Al-Biruni
alms, whilst the two other thirds are spent according to the same
rule.
Others divide this income into four portions. One-fourth is
destined for common expenses, the second for liberal works of a
noble mind, the third for alms, and the fourth for being kept in
reserve, i.e. not more of it than the common expenses for three years.
If the quarter which is to be reserved exceeds this amount, only this
amount is reserved, whilst the remainder is spent as alms.
Usury or taking percentages is forbidden. The sin which a man
commits thereby corresponds to the amount by which the
percentages have increased the capital stock. Only to the Sudra is it
allowed to take percentages, as long as his profit is not more than
one-fiftieth of the capital (i.e. he is not to take more than two per
cent).
CHAPTER LXVIII
On What Is Allowed And Forbidden In
Eating And Drinking
Originally killing in general was forbidden to them, as it is to the
Christians and Manichaeans. People, however, have the desire for
meat, and will always fling aside every order to the contrary. There¬
fore the here-mentioned law applies in particular only to the
Brahmans, because they are the guardians of the religion and
because it forbids them to give way to their lusts.
... As matters stand thus, it is allowed to kill animals by means of
strangulation, but only certain animals, others being excluded. The
... , . , , ,, J meat of such animals, the killing of
unlawful to be eaten which is allowed, is forbidden in case
they die a sudden death. Animals, the
killing of which is allowed are sheep, goats, gazelles, hares, rhino¬
ceroses ( gandha ), the buffaloes, fish, water and land birds, as
sparrows, ringdoves, francolins, doves, peacocks, and other animals
which are not loathsome to man nor noxious.
That which is forbidden are cows, horses, mules, asses, camels,
elephants, tame poultry, crows, parrots, nightingales, all kinds of
eggs and wine. The latter is allowed to the Sudra. He may drink it,
but dare not sell it, as he is not allowed to sell meat.
238
India by Al-Biruni
Why the meat of cows
was forbidden
Some Hindus say that in the time before Bharata it was allowed to
eat the meat of cows, and that there then existed sacrifices part
of which was the killing of cows. After
that time, however, it had been forbid¬
den on account of the weakness of men,
who were too weak to fulfil their duties, as also the Veda, which
originally was only one, was afterwards divided into four parts,
simply for the purpose of facilitating the study of it to men. This
theory, however, is very little substantiated, as the prohibition of the
meat of cows is not an alleviating and less strict measure, but, on the
contrary, one which is more severe and more restrictive than the
former law.
Other Hindus told me that the Brahmans used to suffer from the
eating of cows’ meat. For their country is hot, the inner parts of the
bodies are cold, the natural warmth becomes feeble in them, and the
power of digestion is so weak that they must strengthen it by eating
the leaves of betel after dinner, and by chewing the betel-nut. The hot
betel inflames the heat of the body, the chalk on the betel-leaves
dries up everything wet, and the betel-nut acts as an astringent on the
teeth, the gums, and the stomach. As this is the case, they forbade
eating cows’ meat, because it is essentially thick and cold.
I, for my part, am uncertain, and hesitate in the question of the
origin of this custom between two different views.
(Lacuna in the manuscript)
As for the economical reason, we must keep in mind that the cow
is the animal which serves man in travelling by carrying his loads, in
agriculture in the works of ploughing and sowing, in the household
by the milk and the product made thereof. Further, man makes use
of its dung, and in winter-time even of its breath. Therefore it was
forbidden to eat cows’ meat; as also Alhajjaj forbade it, when people
complained to him that ‘Babylonia became more and more desert. . . .'
CHAPTER LXIX
On Matrimony, The Menstrual Courses,
Embryos, And Childbed
No nation can exist without a regular married life, for it prevents the
uproar of passions abhorred by the cultivated mind, and it removes
all those causes which excite the animal
Necessity of matrimony to a fury always leading to harm.
Considering the life of the animals by
pairs, how the one member of the pair helps the other, and how the
lust of other animals of the same species is kept aloof from them, you
cannot help declaring matrimony to be a necessary institution; whilst
disorderly cohabitation or harlotry on the part of man is a shameful
proceeding, that does not even attain to the standing of the develop¬
ment of animals, which in every other respect stand far below him.
Every nation has particular customs of marriage, and especially
those who claim to have a religion and law of divine origin. The
Hindus marry at a very young age;
Law of marriage therefore the parents arrange the
marriage for their sons. On that occasion
the Brahmans perform the rites of the sacrifices, and they as well as
others receive alms. The implements of the wedding rejoicings are
brought forward. No gift is settled between them. The man gives
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India by Al-Biruni
only a present to the wife, as he thinks fit, and a marriage gift in
advance, which he has no right to claim back, but the wife may give
it back to him of her own will. Husband and wife can only be
separated by death, as they have no divorce.
A man may marry one to four wives. He is not allowed to take
more than four; but if one of his wives die, he may take another one
to complete the legitimate number. However, he must not go beyond
it.
If a wife loses her husband by death, she cannot marry another
man. She has only to choose between two things—either to remain
a widow as long as she lives or to bum
The widow herself; and the latter eventuality is
considered the preferable, because as a
widow she is ill-treated as long as she lives. As regards the wives of
the kings, they are in the habit of burning them, whether they wish it
or not, by which they desire to prevent any of them by chance
committing something unworthy of the illustrious husband. They
make an exception bnly for women of advanced years and for those
who have children, for the son is the responsible protector of his
mother.
According to their marriage law it is better to marry a stranger
than a relative. The more distant the relationship of a woman with
regard to her husband the better. It is
absolutely forbidden to marry related
women both of the direct descending line,
viz. a grand-daughter or great-grand-daughter, and of the direct
ascending line, viz. a mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother. It is
also forbidden tQ marry collateral relations, viz. a sister, a niece, a
maternal or paternal aunt and their daughters, except in case the
couple of relations who want to marry each other be removed from
each other by five consecutive generations. In that case the prohibi¬
tion is waived, but, notwithstanding, such a marriage is an object of
dislike to them.
Some Hindus think that the number of the wives depends upon the
caste; that, accordingly, a Brahman may take four, a Kshatriya
three, a Vaisya two wives, and a Sudra
Number of wives one. Every man of a caste may marry a
woman of his own caste or one of the
castes or caste below his; but nobody is allowed to marry a woman
of a caste superior to his own.
Forbidden degrees of
marriage
On Matrimony, Menstrual Courses and Childbed 241
The child belongs to the caste of the mother, not to that of the
father. Thus, e.g. if the wife oT a Brahman is a Brahman, her child
also is a Brahman; if she is a Sudra, her
Portus sequitur ventrem child is a Sudra. In our time, however,
the Brahmans, although it is allowed to
them, never marry any woman except one of their own caste.
The longest duration of the menstrual courses which has been
observed is sixteen days, but in reality they last only during the first
Duration of the f° ur ^ a ^ S ’ t * ien husband is not
menstrual courses allowed to cohabit with his wife, nor
even to come near her in the house,
because during this time she is impure. After the four days have
elapsed and she has washed, she is pure again, and the husband may
cohabit with her, even if the blood has not yet entirely disappeared;
for this blood is not considered as that of the menstrual courses, but
as the same substance-matter of which the embryos consist.
It is the duty (of the Brahman), if he wants to cohabit with a wife
to get a child, to perform a sacrifice to the fire called garbhadhana;
but he does not perform it, because it
On pregnancy and childbed requires the presence of the woman,
and therefore he feels ashamed to do so.
In consequence he postpones the sacrifice and unites it with the next
following one, which is due in the fourth month of the pregnancy,
called simamtonnayanam After the wife has given birth to the child, a
third sacrifice is performed between the birth and the moment when
the mother begins to nourish the child. It is called jatakarman
The child receives a name after the days of the childbed have
elapsed. The sacrifice for the occasion of the name-giving is called
namakarman
As long as the woman is in childbed, she does not touch any
vessel, and nothing is eaten in her house, nor does the Brahman light
there a fire. These days are eight for the Brahman, twelve for the
Kshatriya, fifteen for the Vaisya, and thirty for the Sudra. For the
low-caste people which are not reckoned among any caste, no term
is fixed.
The longest duration of the suckling of the child is three years, but
there is no obligation in this matter. The sacrifice on the occasion of
the first cutting of the child’s hair is offered in the third, the perfora¬
tion of ear takes place in the seventh and eighth years.
People think with regard to harlotry that it is allowed with them.
242
India by Al-Biruni
Thus, when Kabul was conquered by the Muslim and the Ispahbad
of Kabul adopted Islam, he stipulated
On the causes of prostitution that he should not be bound to eat cows’
meat nor to commit sodomy (which
proves that he abhorred the one as much as the other). In reality, the
matter is not as people think, but it is rather this, that the Hindus are
not very severe in punishing whoredom. The fault, however, in this
lies with the kings, not with the nation. But for this, no Brahman or
priest would suffer in their idol-temples the women who sing, dance,
and play. The kings make them an attraction for their cities, a bait of
pleasure for their subjects, for no other but financial reasons. By the
revenues which they derive from the* business both as fines and
taxes, they want to recover the expenses which their treasury has to
spend on the army.
In a similar way the Buyide prince Adud-aldaula acted, who
besides also had a second aim in view, viz. that of protecting his
subjects against the passions of his unmarried soldiers.
CHAPTER LXX
On Lawsuits
The judge demands from the suitor a document written against the
accused person in a well-known writing which is thought suitable
for writs of the kind, and in the docu-
On procedure ment the well-established proof of the
justice of his suit. In case there is no
written document the contest is settled by means of witnesses
without a written document.
The witnesses must not be less than four, but there may be more.
Only in case the justice of the deposition of a witness is perfectly
established and certain before the judge,
Number of witnesses he may admit it, and decide the
question alone on the basis of the
deposition of this sole witness. However, he does not admit prying
about in secret, deriving arguments from mere signs or indications in
public, concluding by analogy from one thing which seems establish¬
ed about another, and using all sorts of tricks to elicit the truth, as
Tyas Ibn Muawiya used to do.
If the suitor is not able to prove his claim, the defendant must
swear, but he may also tender the oath to the suitor by saying,
“Swear thou that thy claim is true and I will give thee what thou
claimest.”
There are many kinds of the oath, in accordance with the value or
244
India by Al-Biruni
Different kinds of oaths
and ordeals
the object of the claim. If the object is of no great importance, and
the suitor agrees that the accused
person shall swear, the latter simply
swears before five learned Brahmans in
the following words: “If I lie, he shall have as recompense as much
of my goods as is equal to the eightfold of the amount of his claim.”
[Some other kinds of oaths and ordeals are described. These
included the methods of (i) asking the accused person to take a
poisonous drink, (ii) throwing him in a river, and (iii) putting a red-
hot piece of iron in his hand. If he was not a culprit he would remain
unharmed in all these cases. Pp. 159-160.]
CHAPTER LXXI
On Punishments And Expiations
In this regard the manners and customs of the Hindus resemble those
of the Christians, for they are, like those of the latter, based on the
principles of virtue and abstinence from wickedness, such as never to
kill under any circumstance whatsoever, to give to him who has
stripped you of your coat also your shirt, to offer to him who has
beaten your cheek the other cheek also, to bless your enemy and to
pray for him. Upon my life, this is a noble philosophy; but the people
of this world are not all philosophers. Most of them are ignorant and
erring, who cannot be kept on the straight road save by the sword
and the whip.
India has developed in a similar way. For the Hindus relate that
originally the affairs of government and war were in the hands of the
_ „ Brahmans, but the country became dis-
the rulers of the nation organised, since they ruled according to
the philosophic principles of their
religious codes, which proved impossible when opposed to the
mischievous and perverse elements of the populace. They were
even near losing also the administration of their religious affairs.
Therefore, they humiliated themselves before the lord of their
religion. Whereupon Brahman entrusted them exclusively with the
246
India by Al-Biruni
Law of murder
functions which they now have, whilst he entrusted the Kshatriyas
with the duties of ruling and fighting. Ever since the Brahmans live
by asking and begging, and the penal code is exercised under the
control of the kings, not under that of the scholars.
The law about murder is this: If the murderer is a Brahman, and
the murdered person a member of another caste, he is only bound
to do expiation consisting of fasting,
prayers, and alms-giving.
If the murdered person is a Brahman, the Brahman murderer has to
answer for it in a future life; for he is not allowed to do expiation,
because expiation wipes off the sin from the sinner, whilst nothing can
wipe off any of the mortal crimes from a Brahman, of which the
greatest are: the murder of a Brahman, called vajrabrahmahatya; further,
the killing of a cow, the drinking of wine, whoredom, especially with the
wife of one’s own father and teacher. However, the kings do not for
any of these crimes kill a Brahman or Kshatriya, but they confiscate
his property and banish him from their country.
If a man of a caste under those of the Brahman and Kshatriya kills
a man of the same caste, he has to do expiation, but besides the kings
inflict upon him a punishment in order to establish an example.
The law of theft directs that the punishment of the thief should be
in accordance with the value of the stolen object. Accordingly,
sometimes a punishment of extreme or
Law of theft of middling severity is necessary, some¬
times a course of correction and
imposing a payment, sometimes only exposing to public shame and
ridicule. If the object is very great, the kings blind a Brahman and
mutilate him cutting off his left hand and right foot, or the right hand
and left foot, whilst they mutilate a Kshatriya without blinding him,
and kill thieves of the other castes.
An adulteress is driven out of the house of the husband and
Punishment of an adulteress banished.
I have repeatedly been told that when Hindu slaves (in Muslim
countries) escape and return to their country and religion, the Hindus
order that they should fast by way of
”owSrafter 0 r f eruming expiation, then they bury them in the
to their country dung, stale, and milk of cows for a
certain number of days, till they get
into a state of fermentation. Then they drag them out of the dirt and
give them similar dirt to eat, and more of the like.
On Punishments and Expiations
247
I have asked the Brahmans if this is true, but they deny it, and
maintain that there is no expiation possible for such an individual,
and that he is never allowed to return into those conditions of life in
which he was before he was carried off as a prisoner. And how
should that be possible? If a Brahman eats in the house of a Sudra for
sundry days, he is expelled from his caste and can never regain it.
(
CHAPTER LXXII
On Inheritance, And What Claim The
Deceased Person Has On It
The chief rule of their law of inheritance is this, that women do not
inherit, except the daughter. She gets the fourth part of the share of
a son, according to a passage in the
Law of inheritance book Manu. If she is not married, the
money is spent on her till the time of her
marriage, and her dowry is bought by means of her share.
Afterwards she has no more income from the house of her father.
If a widow does not burn herself, but prefers to remain alive, the
heir of her deceased husband has to provide her with nourishment
and clothing as long as she lives.
The debts of the deceased must be paid by his heir, either out of
his share or of the stock of his own property, no regard being had
whether the deceased has left any property or not. Likewise he must
bear the just-mentioned expenses for the widow in any case
whatsoever.
As regards the rule about the male heirs, evidently the
descendants, i.e. the son and grandson, have a nearer claim to the
inheritance than the ascendants, i.e. the father and grandfather.
Further, as regards the single relatives among the descendants as
On Inheritance
249
well as the ascendants, the nearer a man is related, the more claim he
has on inheriting. Thus a son has a nearer claim than a grandson, a
father than a grandfather.
The collateral relations, as, e.g. the brothers, have less claim, and
inherit only in case there is nobody who has a better claim. Hence it
is evident that the sen of a daughter has more claim than the son of a
sister, and that the son of a brother has more claim than either of
them.
If there are several claimants of the same degree of relationship,
as, e.g. sons or brothers, they all get equal shares. A hermaphrodite
is reckoned as a male being . 38
If the deceased leaves no heir, the inheritance falls to the treasury
of the king, except in the case that the deceased person was a
Brahman. In that case the king has no right to meddle with the
inheritance, but it is exclusively spent on alms-giving.
The duty of the heir towards the deceased in the first year consists
in his giving sixteen banquets, where every guest in addition to his
food receives alms also, viz. on the
Duties of the heir fifteenth and sixteenth days after death;
towards the deceased . , u ,
further, once a month during the whole
year. The banquet in the sixth month must be more rich and more
liberal than the others. Further, on the last but one day of the year,
which banquet is devoted to the deceased and his ancestors, and
, finally, on the last day of the year. With the end of the year the duties
towards the deceased have been fulfilled.
If the heir is a son, he must during the whole year wear mourning
dress; he must mourn and have no intercourse with women, if he is a
legitimate child and of a good stock. Besides, you must know that ^
nourishment is forbidden to the heirs for one single day in the first 1
part of the mourning-year.
Besides the almsgiving at the just-mentioned sixteen banquets, the
heirs must make, above the door of the house, something like a shelf
projecting from the wall in the open air, on which they have every
day to place a dish of something cooked and vessel of water, till the
end of ten days after the death. For possibly the spirit of the
deceased has not yet found its rest, but moves still to and fro around
the house, hungry and thirsty.
A similar view is indicated by Plato in Phaedo, where he speaks of
the soul circling round the graves,
Parallel from Plato because possibly it still retains some
250
India by Al-Biruni
vestiges of the love for the body. ...
On the tenth of the last-mentioned days, the heir spends, in the
name of the deceased, much food and cold water. After the eleventh
day, the heir sends every day sufficient food for a single person and a
dirham to the house of the Brahman, and continues doing this during
all the days of the mourning-year without any interruption until its
end.
CHAPTER LXXIII
About What Is Due To The Bodies Of The
Dead And Of The Living (i.e. About
Burying And Suicide)
In the most ancient times the bodies of the dead were exposed to the
air by being thrown on the fields without any covering; also sick
people were exposed on the fields and
Primitive burial customs in the mountains, and were left there. If
they died there, they had the fate just
mentioned; but if they recovered, they returned to their dwellings.
Thereupon there appeared a legislator who ordered people to
expose their dead to the wind. In consequence they constructed
roofed buildings with walls of rails, through which the wind*blew,
passing over the dead, as something similar is the case in the grave-
towers of the Zoroastrians.
After they had practised this custom for a long time, Narayana
prescribed to them to hand the dead over to the fire, and ever since
they are in the habit of burning them, so that nothing remains ot
them, and every defilement, dirt, and smell is annihilated at once, so
as scarcely to leave any trace behind. ...
(Greek parallels are referred to. The ancient Greeks had both
customs, that of burning and that of burying .]
252
India by Al-Biruni
Fire and the sunbeam as the
nearest roads to God
• • In a similar way the Hindus express themselves. There is a
point in man by which he is what he is. This point becomes free when
the mixed elements of the body are dissolved and scattered by
combustion.
Regarding this return (of the immortal soul to God), the Hindus
think that partly it is effected by the rays of the sun, the soul
/ attaching itself to them and ascending
with them, partly by the flame of the
fire, which raises it (to God). Some
Hindus used to pray that God would make his road to himself as a
straight line, because this is the nearest road, and that there is no
other road upwards save the fire or the ray.
Similar to this is the practice of the Ghuzz Turks with reference to
a drowned person; for they place the body on a bier in the river, and
make a cord hang down from his foot, throwing the end of the cord
into the water. By means of this cord the spirit of the deceased is to
raise himself for resurrection.*...
People relate that Buddha had ordered the bodies of the dead to be
thrown into flowing water. Therefore his followers, the Shamanians,
throw their dead into the rivers.
According to the Hindus, the body of the dead has the claim upon
his heirs that they are to wash, embalm, wrap it in a shroud, and then
to bum it with as much sandal and other
Hindu manner of burial woo d as they can get. Part of his burned
bones are brought to the Ganges and
thrown into it, that the Ganges should flow over them, as it has
flowed over the burned bones of the children of Sagara, thereby
forcing them from hell and bringing them into paradise. The
remainder of the ashes is thrown into some brook of running water.
On the spot where the body has been burned they raise a monument
similar to a milestone, plastered with gypsum.
The bodies of children under three years are not burned.
Those who fulfil these duties towards the dead afterwards wash
themselves as well as their dresses during two days, because they
have become unclean by touching the dead.
Those who cannot afford to bum their dead will either throw them
somewhere on the open field or into running water.
Now as regards the right of the body of the living, the Hindus
would not think of burning it save in the case of a widow who
chooses to follow her husband, or in the case of those who are tired
About Burying and Suicide
253
of their life, who are distressed over some incurable disease of their .
body, some irremovable bodily defect,
Modes Of suicide or old age and infirmity. This, however,
no man of distinction does, but only
Vaisyas and Sudras, especially at those times which are prized as
the most suitable for a man to acquire in them, for a future repetition
of life, a better form and condition than that in which he happens to
have been born and to live. Burning oneself is forbidden to Brahmans
and Kshatriyas by a special law. Therefore these, if they want to kill
themselves, do so at the time of an eclipse in some other manner, or
they hire somebody to drown them in the Ganges, keeping them
under water till they are dead.
At the junction of the two rivers, Yamuna and Ganges, there is a
great tree called prayaga 39 , a tree of the species called vata. It is
peculiar to this kind of tree that its
The tree of Pmytiga branches send forth two species of
twigs, some directed upward, as is the
case with all other trees, and others directed downward like roots,
but without leaves. If such a twig enters into the soil, it is like a
supporting column to the branch whence it has grown. Nature has
arranged this on purpose, since the branches of this tree are ot an
enormous extent (and require to be supported) Here the Brahmans
and Kshatriyas are in the habit of committing suicide by climbing up
the tree and throwing themselves into the Ganges. ..-.
CHAPTER LXXIV
On Fasting, And The Various Kinds Of It
Fasting is with the Hindus voluntary and supererogatory. Fasting is
abstaining from food for a certain length of time, which may be
different in duration and in the manner in which it is carried out.
The ordinary middle process, by which all the conditions of
fasting are realised, is this: A man determines the day on which he
will fast, and keeps in mind the name of
Various methods of fasting that being whose benevolence he wishes
to gain thereby and for whose sake he
will fast, be it a god, or an angel, or some other being. Then he
proceeds, prepares (and takes) his food on the day before the fast-
day at noon, cleans his teeth by rubbing, and fixes his thoughts on
the fasting of the following day. From that moment he abstains from
food. On the morning of the fast-day he again rubs his teeth, washes
himself, and performs the duties of the day. He takes water in his
hand, and sprinkles it into all four directions, he pronounces with his
tongue the name of the deity for whom he fasts, and remains in this
condition till the day after the fast-day. After the sun has risen, he is
at liberty to break the fast at that moment if he likes, or, if he prefers,
he may postpone it till noon.
This kind is called upavasa, i.e. the fasting: for the not-eating from
On Fasting, and the Various Kinds of it
255
one noon to the following is called ekanakta, not fasting.
Another kind, called kricchra, is this: A man takes his food on some
day at noon, and on the following day in the evening. On the third
day he eats nothing except what by chance is given him without his
asking for it. On the fourth day he fasts.
Another kind, called pamka, is this: A man takes his food at noon
on three consecutive days. Then he transfers his eating-hour to the
evening during three further consecutive days. Then he fasts un¬
interruptedly during three consecutive days without breaking fast.
Another kind, called candrayana, is this: A man fasts on the day of
full moon; on the following day he takes only a mouthful, on the third
day he takes double this amount, on the fourth day the three-fold of
it, etc., etc., going on thus till the day of new moon. On that day he
fasts; on the following days he again diminishes his food by one
mouthful a day, till he again fasts on the day of full moon.
Another kind, called masavasa (masopavasa ), is this: A man un¬
interruptedly fasts all the days of a month without ever breaking
fast. ...
If a man fasts all the days of Caitra, he obtains wealth and
joy over the nobility of his children. If he fasts in Vaisakha, he will
lord over his tribe. ... If he fasts in Jyaishtha, he will be a favourite
of the women. If he fasts in Ashadha, he will obtain wealth. If he
fasts in Sravana, he obtains wisdom. If he fasts in Bhadrapada, he
obtains wealth and valour, riches and cattle. If he fasts in Asvayuja,
t,,. „ avs ce victorious over his enemies. If he fasts in Kartikka,
he will ... obtain his wishes. If he fasts in Margasirsha, he will be
born in the most beautiful and fertile country. If he fasts in Pausa, he
obtains a high reputation. If he fasts in Magha, he obtains innu¬
merable wealth. If he fasts in Phalguna, he will be beloved.
He who fasts, however, during all the months of the year, only
twelve times breaking the fast, will reside in paradise 10,000 years,
and will thence return to life as the member of a noble, high and
respected family. ...
CHAPTER LXXV
On The Determination Of The Fast-Days
The reader must know in general that the eighth and eleventh days of
the white half of very month are fast-
days, except in the case of the leap
month, for it is disregarded, being
considered unlucky.
The eighth and eleventh
days of each half of a
month are fast-days
The eleventh is specially holy to Vasudeva, because on having
taken possession of Mahura, the inhabitants of which formerly used
to worship Indra one day in each month, he induced them to transfer
this worship to the eleventh, that it should be performed in his name.
... Therefore they fast on this day in the state of the most
punctilious cleanness, and they stay awake all the night, considering
this as an obligatory performance, though in reality it is not
obligatory. ...
[Some of the single fast-days throughout the year are mentioned.
Among these are:]
The sixth day of Caitra is a fast-day holy to the sun.
The day of full moon in the month Sravana is a fast-day noiy tc
Somanath. ...
The eighth of the same month is a fast-day holy to Bhagavati.
Fasting is broken when the moon rises.
Determination of the Fast-Days
257
The fifth day of Bhadrapada is a fast-day holy to the sun, called
shat. .. .
When in the month Karttika the moon stands in Revati, the last of
her stations, it is a fast-day in commemoration of the waking up of
Vasudeva. It is called deotthini, i.e. the rising of the Deva. Others
add, besides, the condition that it must be the eleventh of the white
half. ...
On the sixth day of Pausha is a fasting in honour of the sun.
On the third day of Magha there is fasting for the women, not for
the men. It is called Gaur-t-r (gauri-tritiyal), and lasts the whole day
and night. On the following morning they make presents to the
nearest relatives of their husbands.
CHAPTER LXXVI
On The Festivals And Festive Days
Yatra means travelling under auspicious circumstances. Therefore a
feast is called yatra. Most of the Hindu festivals 40 are celebrated by
women and children only.
The 2nd of the month Caitra is a festival to the people of Kashmir,
called Agdus (?), and celebrated on account of a victory gained by
their king, Muttai, over the Turks.
The 2nd Caitra According to their account he ruled
over the whole world. But this is exactly
what they say of most of their kings. However, they are incautious
enough to assign him to a time not much anterior to our time, which
leads to their lie being found out. It is, of course, not impossible that
a Hindu should rule (over a huge empire), as Greeks, Romans,
Babylonians, and Persians have done, but all the times not much
anterior to our own are well known. (If, therefore, such had been the
case, we should know it.) Perhaps the here mentioned king ruled
over the whole of India, and they know of no other country but India
and of no other nations but themselves.
On the 11th there is a festival called Hindolicaitra, when they meet
in the devagriha, or temple of Vasudeva, and swing his image to and
On the Festivals and Festive Days
259
11th Caitra
22nd Caitra
fro, as had been done with him when he
was an infant in the cradle. They
perform the same in their houses during
the whole day and make merry.
On the full moon’s day of Caitra there is a feast called Bahand
(vasantal), a festival for the women.
Full moon’s day when they put on their ornaments and
demand presents from their husbands.
The 22nd is a festival called caitra-cashati a day of merriment
holy to Bhagavati, when people used
to wash and to give alms.
The 3rd Vaisakha is a festival for the women called Gaur-t-r(gauri-
tritiyal ), holy to Gauri, the daughter of the mountain Himavant, the
wife of Mahadeva. They wash and
3rd Vaisakha dress gaily, they worship the image of
Gauri and light lamps before it, they
offer perfumes, abstain from eating, and play with swings. On the
following day they give alms and eat.
On the 10th Vaisakha all the Brahmans whom the kings have
invited proceed forth to the open fields, and there they light great
fires for the sacrifices during five days till full moon. They make the
fires in sixteen different spots and in four different groups. In each
group a Brahman performs the sacrifice, so that there are four per¬
forming priests as there are four Vedas. On the 16th they return home
In this month occurs the vernal equinox, called Vasanta. They
determine the day by calculation and
Vernal equinox make it a festival, when people invite
the Brahmans.
On the 1st Jyaishtha, or new moon’s day, they celebrate a festival
and throw the first-fruits of all seeds
1st Jyaishtha into the water in order to gain thereby a
favourable prognostic.
The full moon’s day of this month is a festival to the women,
Full moon’s day called Rupa-panca (?)
All the days of the month Ashadha are devoted to alms-giving. It
is also called Ahari During this time the
household is provided with new vessels.
On the full moon day of Sravana, they give banquets to the
15th Sravana Brahmans.
On the 8th Asvayuja, when the moon stands in the nineteenth
Ashadha
260
India by Al-Biruni
station, Mul^, begins the sucking of the sugarcane. It is a festival
holy to Mahanavami, the sister 41 of Mahadeva, when they offer the
first fruits of sugar and all other thing to her image which is called
Bhagavati. They give much alms before it and kill kids. He who does
not possess anything to offer, stands
8th Asvayuja upright by the side of the idol, without
ever sitting down, and will sometimes
pounce upon whomsoever he meets and kill him. ...
In the month Bhadrapada, when the moon stands in the tenth
station, Magha, they celebrate a festival which they call Pitripakska 42 ,
i.e. the half of the month of the Fathers
Bhadrapada, new moon because the moon’s entering this station
falls near the time of new moon. They
distribute alms during fifteen days in the name of the Fathers.
On the 3rd Bhadrapada is the festival Harbali (?), for the women.
It is their custom that a number of days before they sow all kinds of
seeds in baskets, and they bring the
3rd Bhadrapada baskets forward on this day after they
have commenced growing. They throw
roses and perfumes on them and play with each other during the
whole night. On the following morning they bring them to the ponds,
wash them, wash themselves, and give alms.
On the 6th of this month, which is called Gaihat (?), when people
6th Bhadrapada give food to those who are in prison.
On the 8th, when the moonlight has reached half of its develop¬
ment, they have a festival called Dhruvagriha (?); they wash them¬
selves and eat well growing grain-fruit
8th Bhadrapada that their children should be healthy.
The women celebrate this festival when
they are pregnant and desire to have children. ...
When the moon stands in her fourth station, Rohini, they call this
time Gunalahid (?), celebrating a festival during three days and
making merry by playing with each
16th Bhadrapada other, from joy over the birth of
Vasudeva. ...
.. . The 1 st Karttika, or new moon’s day, when the sun marches in
Libra, is called Dibali 43 . Then people bathe, dress festively, make
presents to each other of betel-leaves
1st Karttika and areca-nuts; they ride to the temples
to give alms and play merrily with each
On the Festivals and Festive Days
261
other till noon. In the night they light a great number of lamps in
every place so that the air is perfectly clear. The cause of this festival
is that Lakshmi, the wife of Vasudeva, once a year on this day
liberates Bali, the son of Virocana, who is a prisoner in the seventh
earth, and allows him to go out into the world. Therefore the festival
is called Balirajya, i.e. the principality of Bali. ...
In the same month, when full moon is perfect, they give banquets
and adorn their women during all the days of the black half. ...
On full moon’s day of the same month there is another festival of
15th Margasirsha the women.
On most of the days of the month Pausha they prepare great
quantities of puhaval (?) i.e. a sweet dish which they eat.
On the eighth day of the white half of Pausha, which is called
Ashtaka, they make gatherings of the Brahmans, present them with
dishes prepared from the plant A triplex
8th Pausha hortensia, i.e. sarmak in Arabic
(= orache), and show attentions to
them.
On the eighth day of the black half, which is called Sakartam, they
eat turnips.
The 3rd Magha, called Mahatriji (Magha-tritiya ?), is a feast for the
women, and sacred to Gauri. They meet in the houses of the most
prominent among them before the
3rd Magha image of Gauri, place before it various
sorts of costly dresses, pleasant per¬
fumes, and nice dishes. In each meeting-place they put 108 jugs full
of water, and after the water has become cool, they wash with it four
times at the four quarters of that night. On the following day they
give alms, they give banquets and receive guests. The women’s
washing with cold water is common to all the days of this month....
The full moon’s day of Phalguna is a feast to the women, called
Odas (?), or also dhola", (i.e. dola), when they make fire on places
lower than those on which they make it
15th Phalguna G n the festival Camaha, and they throw
the fire out of the village.
On the following night, i.e. that of the 16th, called ShivaratrA 5 ,
they worship Mahadeva during the
16th Phalguna whole night; they remain awake, and do
not lie down to sleep, and offer to him
perfumes and flowers.
262
India by Al-Biruni
On the 23rd, which is called Puyattan(?) 9 they eat rice with butter
23rd Phalguna and sugar.
The Hindus of Multan have a festival which is called Sambapura-
A festival in Multan yatra ; they celebrate it in honour of the
sun, and worship him. ...
CHAPTER LXXVII
On Days Which Are Held In Special Veneration,
On Lucky And Unlucky Times, And On Such
Times As Are Particularly Favourable For
Acquiring In Them Bliss In Heaven
The single days enjoy different degrees of veneration according to
certain qualities which they attribute to them. They distinguish, e.g.
the Sunday, because it is the day of the sun and the beginning of the
week, as the Friday is distinguished in Islam.
To the distinguished days further belong amavasya and pumima, i.e.
the days of conjuction (new moon) and opposition (full moon),
because they are the limits of the wane
The days of new moon ^ the i ncrease of the moonlight. In
and full moon accordance with the belief of the
Hindus regarding this increase and wane, the Brahmans sacrifice
continually to the fire in order to earn heavenly reward. They let the
portions of the angels accumulate, which are the offerings thrown
into the fire at moonlight during the whole time from new moon to
full moon. Then they begin distributing these portions over the
angels in the time from full moon to new moon, till at the time of new
moon'nothing any more remains of them. We have already mentioned
264
India by Al-Biruni
that new moon and full moon are noon and midnight of the
nychthemeron of the Fathers. Therefore the uninterrupted alms¬
giving on these two days is always done in honour of the Fathers.
Four other days are held in special veneration, because, according
The four days on which ^ Hindus, with them the single
the four yugas are said to yugas of the present caturyuga have
have commenced commenced, viz.:-
The 3rd Vaisakha, called kshairita (?), on which the kritayuga is
believed to have commenced.
The 9th Karttika, the beginning of the tretayuga.
The 15th Magha, the beginning of the dvaparayuga.
The 13th of Asvayuja, the beginning of the kaliyuga.
According to my opinion, these days are festivals, sacred to the
yugas, instituted for the purposes of almsgiving or for the perform¬
ance of some rites and ceremonies, as, e.g. the commemoration-days
in the year of the Christians. However, we must deny that the four
yugas could really have commenced on the days here mentioned.
[Al-Biruni criticises the basis of the calculations for determining
the actual day of the commencement of the four yagas. He thinks that
such an exact determination could only be made by ‘resorting to very
artificial ways of interpretation.’]
The times which are specially favourable to earn a heavenly
The days called punyakala reward in them are called punyakala ....
No doubt, most of the feast days enumerated in the preceding
belong to this kind of days, for they are devoted to almsgiving and
banqueting. If people did not expect to gain thereby a reward in
heaven, they would not approve of the rejoicings and merriments
which are characteristic of these days.
Notwithstanding the nature of the punyakala is such as here explain¬
ed, some of them are considered as lucky, others as unlucky days.
Those days are lucky when the planets migrate from one sign into
the other, especially the sun. These times are called Samkranti The
most propitious of them are the days of
Samkranti the equinoxes and solstices, and of
these the most propitious is the day of
the vernal equinox. It is called bikhu or shibu (vishuva ), as the two
sounds sh and kh may be exchanged for each others, and may also, by
a metathesis, change their place.
As, however, a planet’s entering a new sign does not require more
than a moment of time, and during it, people must offer to the fire the
265
On Days which are Held in Special Veneration
offering santa (?) with oil gnd com, the Hindus have given a greater
extent to these times, making them begin with the moment when the
eastern edge of the body of the sun touches the first part of the sign;
reckoning as their middle the moment when the sun s centre reaches
the first part of the sign, which is in astronomy considered as the time
of the migration (of the planet from one sign to the other), and
reckoning as the end that moment when the western edge of the sun’s
body touches the first part of the sign. This process lasts, in the case
of the sun, nearly two hours.
(Two different methods for calculating the moment of Samkranti
are mentioned. Pp. 188-191.]
... Most propitious times are, further, the times of solar and lunar
eclipses. At that time, according to their belief, all the waters of the
earth become as pure as that of the
Times of eclipses Ganges. They exaggerate the venera¬
tion of these times to such a degree
that many of them commit suicide, wishing to die at such a time as
promises them heavenly bliss. However, this is only done by Vaisyas
and Sudras, whilst it is forbidden to Brahmans and Kshatriyas, who in
consequence do not commit suicide. [Vide, however, p. 253.]
Further, the times of Parvan are propitious, i.e. those times in
which an eclipse may take place. And
even if there is no eclipse at such a time,
Parvan and yoga j t j s considered quite as propitious as
the time of an eclipse itself.
The times of the yogas are as propitious as those of the eclipses.
We have devoted a special chapter to them (chap, lxxix ). ..
... Times which are considered as unlucky, to which no merit
whatsoever is attributed, are e.g. the times of earthquakes. Then the
Hindus beat with the pots of their
Times of earthquakes households against the earth and break
them, in order to get a good omen and to
banish the mishap. As times of a similar ill nature, the book Samhita
further enumerates the moments of landslips, the falling of stars,
red glow in the sky, the combustion of the earth by lightning, the
appearance of comets, the occurrence of events contrary both to
nature and custom, the entering of the wild beasts into the villages,
rainfall when it is not the season for it, the trees putting fortji leaves
when it is not the season for it, when the nature of one season of the
year seems transferred to another, and more of the like. ...
CHAPTER LXXVIII
On The Karanas
We have already spoken of the lunar days called tilhi, and have
explained that each lunar day is shorter then a civil day,
because the lunar month has thirty lunar
Explanation of kamna days, but only a little more than twenty-
nine and half civil days.
As the Hindus call these tithis nychthemera, they also call the
former half of a tithi day, the latter half night. Each of these halves
has a separate name, and they all of them (i.e. all the halves of the
lunar days of the lunar month) are called karanas.
(The rule for finding out a karana is given. P. 195.J
The word buht is of Indian origin. In the Indian language it is bhukti
the daily motion of a planet). If the corrected motion is meant,
it is called bhukti sphuta. If the mean
Explanation of bhukti motion is meant, it is called buhkti
madhyama, and if the buht which renders
equal is meant, it is called bhuktyantara, i.e. the difference between
the two bhuktis.
The lunar days of the month have special names, which we exhibit
in the following diagram. If you know the lunar day in which you are,
On the Karanas
267
Names of the lunar days
of the half of a month
you find, by the side of the number of
the day, its name, and opposite it the
karana in which you are. If that which has
elapsed of the current day is less than half a day, the karana is a
diurnal one; if that which has elapsed of it is more than half a day, it
is a nocturnal one. This is the diagram:—
[The diagram is given, p. 197.]
The Hindus attribute to some of the karanas dominants, as is their
custom. Further they give rules showing what during each karana
must be done or not, rules which are
Table of kamms with their similar to collection of astrological
dominants and prognostics , , , , .
prognostics (as to lucky or unlucky
days, etc.). If we give here a second diagram of the karanas, we
thereby simply mean to confirm what we had said already, and to
repeat a subject which is unknown amongst us, because learning is
the fruit of repetition.
[Diagrams showing the prognostics of the four fixed and seven
movable karanas are given.
Al-Biruni goes on to point out that Alkindi and some other Arab
authors have adopted the Indian system of the karanas but they had
not quite fully understood it. Though they had improved upon it in
some ways but ‘the thing’ had become ‘totally different from what it
originally was.’ Both the methods, that of the Hindus and that of
Alkindi must be treated separately. Pp. 198-203.]
CHAPTER LXXIX
On The Yogas
Explanation of vyatipata
and mid In it a
These are times which the Hindus think to be most unlucky and
during which they abstain from all action. They are numerous. We
shall here mention them.
There are two yogas regarding which all Hindus agree, viz.:—
(1) The moment when sun and moon together stand on two
circles, which are, as it were, seizing
each other, i.e. each pair of circles, the
declinations of which, on one and the
same side (of either solstice), are equal. This yoga is called vyatipata.
(2) The moment when sun and moon stand together on two equal
circles, i.e. each pair of circles, the declinations of which, on
different sides (of either solstice), are equal. This is called vaidhrita.
[Different methods for computing the vyatipata and vaidhrita, as
given by Pulisa and the author of Karanatilaka are given. Al-Biruni
also refers to two books which he prepared on the subject, including
one titled Arabic Khandakhadyaka which he had ‘composed for’ a
Kashmiri named Sayavabala. 46 A Table showing the names and the
qualities of the yogas is also given. Pp. 204-210.]
CHAPTER LXXX
On The Introductory Principles Of Hindu
Astrology, With A Short Description Of Their
Methods Of Astrological Calculations
Our fellow-believers in these (Muslim) countries are not acquainted
with the Hindu methods of astrology, and have never had an
opportunity of studying an Indian book
among Mu r hamma U d n a k n n S OWn on the Sub J eCt ' In consequence, they
imagine that Hindu astrology is the
same as theirs and relate all sorts of things as being of Indian origin,
of which we have not found a single trace with the Hindus
themselves. As in the preceding part of this our book we have given
something of everything, we shall also give as much of their
astrological doctrine as will enable the reader to discuss questions of
a similar nature with them. If we were to give an exhaustive
representation of the subject, this task would detain us very long,
even if we limited ourselves to delineate only the leading principles
and avoided all details.
First, the reader must know that in most of their prognostics they
simply rely on means like auguring from the flight of birds and
physiognomy, that they do not—as they ought to do—draw con¬
clusions, regarding the affairs of the sublunary world, from the
270
India £x Al-Biruni
seconds (sic) of the stars, which are the events of the celestial sphere.
Regarding the number seven as that of the planets, there is no
difference between us and them. They call them graha. Some of them
are throughout lucky, viz. Jupiter,
On the planets Venus and the Moon, which are called
saumyagraha. Other three are throughout
unlucky, viz. Saturn, Mars, and the Sun, which are called kruragraha.
Among the latter, they also count the dragon’s head, though in
reality it is not a star. The nature of one planet is variable and
depends upon the nature of that planet with which it is combined,
whether it be lucky or unlucky. This is Mercury. However, alone by
itself, it is lucky.
[Table listing the names of the seven planets, the various
information obtainable from them regarding the sex and character of
human beings, the elements and the seasons indicated by them, etc.
as also some explanatory notes, on the Table, are given. A Table
showing the peculiar qualities of each zodiacal sign is given,
pp. 213-219.]
The height or altitude of a planet is called, in the Indian language,
uccastha , its particular degree paramoccastha. the depth or dejectio of a
^ planet is called nicastha. its particular
Explanation of some tech- , . . w . ..
nical terms of astrology degree paramamcdsthd. Atuldtiikona is a
powerful influence, attributed to a
planet, when it is in the gaudium in one of its two houses. ...
They do not refer the aspedus trigoni to the elements and the
elementary natures, as it is our custom to do, but refer them to the
points of the compass in general, as has been specified in the Table.
They call the turning zodiacal sign (tropikon) cararasi, i.e. moving,
the fixed one ( stereon) sthirarasi , i.e. the resting one, and the double¬
bodied one (disoma) dvisvabhava, i.e. both together.
As we have given a table of the zodiacal signs, we next give a table
of the houses (domus ), showing the qualities of each of them. The
one half of them above the earth they
The houses call chatra, i.e. parasol, and the half
under the earth they call nau, ie. ship.
Further, they call the half ascending to the midst of heaven and the
other half descending to the cardo of the earth, dhanu, i.e. the bow.
The cardines they call kendra (y kentron ), the next following houses
panaphara (epanaphora ), and the inclining houses apoklima ( apoklima ):-
[Table given. Pp. 221-222.]
Introductory Principles of Hindu Astrology
The hitherto mentioned details are in reality the cardinal points of
Hindu astrology, viz. the planets, zodiacal signs, and houses. He who
knows how to find out what each of them means or portends
deserves the title of a clever adept and of a master in this art.
[Al-Biruni then goes on to describe the ‘division of the zodiacal
signs in minor portions’, the Indian astrologer’s ideas about ‘the
friendship and enmity’ of planets, ‘the four forces of each planet’,
‘the years of life which the single planets bestow’ and ‘the three
species of these years’, etc. Pp. 222—231.]
From the description given in the preceding pages, the reader
learns how the Hindus compute the duration of human life. He
learns from the positions of the planets.
Special methods of inquiry which they occupy on the origin (i.e. at
Oh, Hindu XX**- the moment of birth) and at every given
moment of life in what way the years of the different planets are
distributed over it. To these things Hindu astrologers join certain
methods of the astrology of nativities, which other nations do not
take into account. ...
I mention these things in order to show the reader the difference
between the astrological methods of our people and those of the
Hindus. Their theories and methods
On comets regarding aerial and cosmic phenomena
are very lengthy and very subtle at the
same time. As we have limited ourselves to mentioning in their
astrology of nativities, only the theory of the determination of the
length of life, we shall in this department of science limit ourselves to
the species of the comets, according to the statements of those
among them who are supposed to know the subject thoroughly. The
analogy of the comets shall afterwards be extended to other more
remote subjects.
The head of the Dragon is called rahu, the tail ketu The Hindus
seldom speak of the tail, they only use the head. In general, all
comets which appear on heaven are also called ketu
[Quotation from Varahamihira’s Samhita regarding different kinds
of comets, their prognostics, etc. are given. A Table showing the
names of the comets, the number of stars each one of them has, the
directions from which they appear, their prognostics, etc. is also
given.
A conscientious scholar, Al-Biruni notes that the manuscript at
his disposal was defective and so certain entries in some of the
272
India by Al-Biruni
columns had to be left blank. Pp. 234-238.]
The author (Varahamihira) had divided the comets into three
_ . „ classes: the high ones near the stars; the
Further quotations from the n °
Samhita of Varahamihira flowing ones near the earth; the middle
ones in the air, and he mentions each
one of the high and middle classes of them in our Table separately....
The Jews hold the same opinion regarding the comets as we hold
regarding the stone of the Ka’ba (viz. that they all are stones which
have fallen down from heaven). Accordiing to the same book of
Varahamihira, comets ,are such beings as have been on account of
their merits raised to heaven, whose period of dwelling in heaven has
elapsed and who are then redescending to the earth.
[A\Table giving similar information, as above, in regard to these
three types of comets is given. Pp. 241-244.]
This is the doctrine of the Hindus regarding the comets and their
presages.
Only few Hindus occupy themselves in the same way as physical
scholars among the anicient Greeks did,'with exact scientific
researches on the comets and on the
On meteorology nature of the other phenomena of
heaven (tametedra ), for also in these
things they are not able to rid themselves of the doctrines of their
theologians. ...
As regards the phenomena of the sky, they say, for instance, that
the thunder is the roaring of A irarata, i.e. the riding-elephant of Indra
the ruler when it drinks from the pond Manasa, rutting and roaring
with a hoarse voice.
The rainbow (lit. bow of Kuzah) is the bow of Indra, as our
common people consider it as the bow of Rustam.
We think now that what we have related in this book will be suffi¬
cient for any one who wants to converse with the Hindus, and to dis¬
cuss with them questions of religion,
Conclusion science, or literature, on the very basis of
their own civilisation. Therefore, we shall
finish this treatise, which has already, both by its length and breadth,
wearied the reader. We ask God to pardon us for every statement of
ours which is not true. We ask Him to help us that we may adhere to
that which yields Him satisfaction. We ask Him to lead us to a
proper insight into the nature of that which is false and idle, that we
may sift it so as to distinguish the chaff from the wheat. All good
273
Introductory Principles of Hindu Astrology
comes from Him, and it is He who is clement towards His slaves.
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and His blessings be upon
the Prophet Muhammad and his whole family!
Select References*
1. Edward C. Sachau, The Chronology of Ancient Nations, London, 1879, Introduction,
dd V-XIV.
2. Edward C. Sachau. Albiruni’s India, London, 1888 (Delhi reprint, 1964),
3.
4.
4A,
5.
6 .
7.
8 .
9.
Introduction, pp. VH-L. . f
(Both these Introductions by Sachau, the scholar who introduced Al-Biruni to
the wider English-speaking world, contain a very exhaustive account of the life
of Al-Biruni and significance of his work.)
Al-Biruni Commemoration Volume, Iran Society,. Calcutta, 1951.
'indo-Iranica, Vol. V, no. 4, 1952, ‘Al-Biruni Millenary Celebrations’.
Hakim Mohammad Said, Ed., Al-Biruni Commemoration Volume, Karachi, 1979.
(These volumes contain some very good articles on the life and works of
Al-Biruni. These articles have not been separately listed here.)
K A Nizami, edL Politics and Society During the Early Medieval Period (Collected
Works of Professor M. Habib), ‘Abu Raihan Albenmi on the National
Character of the Hindus’, pp. 25-32 ; ibid, ‘Hindu Society in the Early Middle
Ages’, pp. 137-57; ibid, ‘Indian Culture and Social Life at the Time of the
Turkish Invasions’, pp. 152-228.
(These articles of Professor Habib were written in 1930-31 and 1940, and
have been reproduced in this volume. They contain some very incisive
comments on Al-Biruni’s observations, and present summarised version of some
portions of the text)
Elliot and Dowson, History of India As Told By Its Own Historians, Vol. II, Aligar
Reprint, 1952, with Introduction by M. Habib, pp. 1-8 and Notes.
Encyclopaedia of Islam, article by D.J. Boilot entitled ‘Al-Biruni’, new ed. London,
1960, 1, 1236-38. ,
C.C. Gillespie, ed.. Dictionary of Scientific Biography , article by E.s. Kennedy
entitled‘Al-Biruni’, New York, 1970, 11, 147-58.
Ainslie T. Embree, Alberuni’s India, (abridged edition). New York, 1971,
Introduction, pp. V-XIX. (See also p. XI. note 2).
• The articles listed here are from among those relating to the life of Al-Biruni and some aspect
of his work on India. For a fuller Ust of articles on Al-Biruni see I D. Pearson,
1906-55, Cambridge, 1958, pp. 146-48 and its subsequent issues. Also serial nos. 7, 23 ana la
above.
276 India by Al-Biruni
10. R.C. Mqjumdar, ‘A Passage in Alberani’s India—*A Nanda Era V,J.Ji.O.R.S..
IX, 1923, pp. 417-18.
11. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Albiruni’s India, I.C., 1, no. 1, 1927, pp. 31-35; ibid* no. .2,
pp. 223-30; ibid., no. 3, pp. 473-87.
12. Z. Ahmad, Al-Biruni, I.C., V, 1931, pp. 343-51, ibui. VI, 1932, pp. 363-69.
13. F. Kerenkow, ‘Abu’r Rahman Al-Biruni’, 7. C., VI, 1932, pp. 528-34.
14. S.H. Bami, ‘Al-Biruni’s Scientific Achievements’, ibid., 1952-53, pp. 37-48.
15. A.H. Dani, ‘Al-Biruni on Sanskrit Literature*, J.PHS., 1, 1953, pp. 301-17.
16. S.A. Ali, ‘Al-Biruni, the Scholar and the Writer*, Progs. Voi Pakistan Historical
Conference, 1953, pp. 243-52.
17. M.L. Roy Choudhury, ‘Abu Raihan Al-Birom and his Indian Studies’, /./. Vol.
VII, 1954, pp. 9-22.
18. B.C. Law, ‘Al-Biruni’s Knowledge of Indian Geography’, /./., Vol. VII, 1954,
pp. 1-26. *
19. M. Yasin, ‘Al-Biruni in India*, I.C., XLIX, 1975, pp. 207-13.
20. M.S. Khan, ‘Al-Biruni on Indian Metaphysics’,*^. LV, 1981, pp.
21. Gonindar Kaur, ‘Al-Biruni: An Early Student of Comparative Religions’, ibid.,
LVI, 1982, pp. 149-63.
22. M.S. Khan, ‘Al-Biruni and the Political History of India’, Oriens. , E.J. Bnll,
Leiden, Vol. 25-26, pp. 86-115.
23. Maqbul Ahmad, el at, ‘Al-Biruni, An Introduction to his life and Writings’,
paper presented at the New Delhi Symposium on Al-Biruni. 1971.
24. M. Ghiyasuddin, unpublished Ph. D. thesis (1968), ‘A Critical Analysis of the
Writings of Al-Biruni Pertaining to India’, Maulana Azad Library, A.M.U.,
Aligarh.
Notes
1. ’Abu-Sahl ‘Abd-Almun‘im Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Nuh At-Tiflisi (p.4). 1
It is rather surprising that Al-Biruni does not give any biographical
particulars about this apparently important personage at whose
suggestion and for whose pleasure he prepared his great work on
India. On the basis of the respectable prefix of Ustad. (master), added
generally to the names of high civil officers, not generals, Sachau
suggests that he was a high civil functionary in Sultan Mahmud’s
Court, and was probably of Persian origin.
2. Mutazila sect (p. 4). One of the early religio-philosophical
movements in Islam. The founder of this school of rationalism was
Wasil Ibn Ata (d. 748).
The Mutazilites asserted the principle of free-will as against pre¬
destination, and maintained that the divine attributes of God should
not be regarded as co-existent with God, because that would destroy
the concept of the unity of God. They also believed in the dogma of
the ‘creation’ of the Quran. The movement gained influence and
importance during the Khilafat of Al-M’amun (813-33).
Its doctrines were influenced by the Greek philosophy, and
evoked strong controversies and produced much polemical litera¬
ture. Al-Biruni wanted his own book on India to be free from any
such polemical bias.
3. Abu-Al-‘Abbas Aleranshahri (p.5). Author of a general work
on the history of religions, including.some account of Hinduism and
Buddhism. One of the rare instances in which Al-Biruni approv¬
ingly refers to the work of an earlier Muslim writer on Indian culture.
1 This and the subsequent references to page numbers within brackets indicate the
pages of the present abridged edition.
278
India by Al-Biruni
Al-Biruni’s study of the Indian society and religion is otherwise
almost entirely based on indigenous sources or personal information
and observation.
To some early Arab geographers Eranshahr denoted the whole
area of the Sasanid empire but here it indicates a smaller region or a
town.
4. Zarkan (p.5). Al-Biruni does not give any particulars about
him except that he was the author of a treatise on Buddhism which
Eranshahri (no. 3 above) had incorporated in his own book. Al-
Biruni does not think very highly about the authenticity of Zarkan’s
account but Sachau suggests that whatever brief information Al-
Biruni gives about Buddhism is based on Zarkan’s book.
5. Samkhya (p. 6) (Reasoning). It is the name of a school of
thought founded by the legendary saint Kapila. It is characterised by
a rigid dualism (between matter and spirit) and a fundamental
atheism. For Al-Biruni’s description of the ideas of the Samkhya
school of philosophers, see pp. 23-24.
Al-Biruni mentions Samkhya as a book composed by Kapila
(p. 60). He had translated this book into Arabic and has quoted from
it extensively on matters of religion and philosophy. Discussing its
identification, Sachau draws attention to the “so-called Samkhya-
pravacanam (‘The Sankhya Aphorism of Kapila’)” and two other
works, the Samkhya Karika of Isvara Krishna (probably of the 4th
century A.D.) and the Bhashya of Gaudapada (see note 17 A below).
He writes that though there are similarities in these works they are
not identical.
It may be added that the earliest document of Samkhya school is
the Shashtitantra composed by Varshagnya in the 1st or 2nd century
A.D. The Samkhya school offers salvation to both the twice-born and
the once-bom, whereas the Purva Mimamsa and Vedanta restrict it to
the twice-born only.
6. Patanjali (Patanjala ?) (p. 6). Sachau notes that the Arabic text
generally has kitab-i batanjal (in Arabic there is no letter for p, for
which the letter b is used), which may be translated as ‘the book of
(the author) Patanjali’ or ‘the book (which is called) Patanjali or
Patanjala.’ Only at one place, Al-Biruni writes Sahib-i kitab-i Batanjal
or the author of the book of Patanjali, where Batanjal means the title
of the book, not the name of the author. At two other places, the
word Batanjal, however, indicates the name of the author (p. 37).
Sachau, therefore suggests that the name of the author was probably
Notes
279
taken to indicate the title of his book too. Regarding the pronun¬
ciation, Sachau points out that in the Arabic text it is written with a
long a, but there was no uniformity in the transliteration on this
point. He therefore wrote it as Patanjali, as written in Sanskrit
generally.
Like the Samkhya, mentioned above, this is one of the books
translated into Arabic by Al-Biruni, and extensively quoted by him
on matters of religion and philosophy (p. 60).
Patanjali was the author of Yugasutra which is assigned to the 4th
century A.D. Sachau, however, points out that ‘Alberuni’s Patanjali
is totally different from “The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali”.
7. ‘The book Gita, a part of the book Bharata' (p. 13). Like the
above-mentioned two books, Al-Biruni quotes extensively from it on
matters of religion and philosophy. It may be noted that he calls it a
part of the Bharata, and does not mention the title Mahabharata.
Sachau draws attention to the differences in the text used by Al-
Biruni and the present Bhagwad Gita. He thinks that Al-Biruni’s copy
of the text was ‘more ancient’ and fuller, and expresses surprise that
no trace of that copy has survived. (See last para of note 12 below on
the question of the original Sanskrit texts used by Al-Biruni.)
Sachau also suggests that Al-Biruni was probably using a com¬
mentary, not the text of the Gita.
8 . Jabriyya sect (p. 14). Derived from the word Jabr (compulsion),
the followers of this school of thought emphasised the all-
powerfulness of God, and opposed the Mu‘tazilite doctrine of free¬
will.
9. Abu-alfath Albusti (p. 17). A famous poet in the court of
Sultan Mahmud and Mas‘ud. He belonged to Bust (Afghanistan),
and had served earlier under the Samanids. He died in 1039.
10. Buddhodana and the Shamanians (p. 19). Sachau’s suggestion
that the word Buddhodana is a misreading of Suddhodana, the father
of Gautam Buddha, is not very acceptable because it does not fit in
the context in which it occurs. His other suggestion, that the work of
Eranshahri (see note 3 above) which is obviously Al-Biruni’s source
on this point, perhaps contained the word Suddhodana, not Bud¬
dhodana (they look similar in Arabic writing), and that Suddhodana
‘would be Sauddhodani, i.e. the son of Suddhodana, or Buddha’, is
more acceptable. In fact, at another place (p. 177) Al-Biruni himself
writes this—‘Buddhodana, the son of Suddhodana.’ Sachau seems to
have missed this clear reference.
280
India by Al-Biruni
The word Shamaniaris is used in Arabic to denote the Buddhists. It
is derived from a Prakritic form of Sanskrit, Sramana. Al-Biruni also
called them the Muhammira (p. 177), or the red-robed ones, which
obvijusly refers to the red-brown cloaks of the Buddhists.
11. The Vishnu-Purana (p. 29). It is the name of one of the Puranas
(see note 16A below). It is divided into six parts, five of which deal
with cosmic matters. The sixth book which is the central portion of
the work gives an account of the sports and exploits of a youthful
Krishna whom it regards as an incarnation of Vishnu.
12. Vishnu Dharma (p. 35). Al-Biruni mentions this work in the
chapter on the religious literature of the Hindus (Chapter XII), and
explains that it means ‘Religion of God who in this case is
understood to be Narayana’.
Sachau finds himself unable to identify this work, and he writes
that ‘it is a sort of Purana, full of those legends and notions charac¬
teristic of the literature of the Puranas’, but points out that Al-Biruni
does not include it in his list of the Puranas (p. 60). He writes that
the traditions of Saunaka, often quoted by Al-Biruni (p. 233) were
probably taken from the Vishnu Dharma. He adds that the work may
be the same as Vishnu-Dharmottara-Purana which ‘is said to have
comprehended Brahmagupta’s Brahmasiddhanta .’ Al-Biruni had a
copy of this work, and Sachau suggests that ‘he (Al-Biruni) had it
perhaps as a portion of this larger work.’
For a discussion of the general problem of the authenticity of the
Sanskrit texts used by Al-Biruni, and the identification of some of the
works cited by him, see Dr J. Gonda, ‘Remarks on Al-Biruni’s
Quotations from Sanskrit Texts’, ACV, Pp. 111-18. Dr Gonda
writes that the accuracy of these extracts has generally been
vindicated with the discoveries of more copies of such texts and a
better understanding of the Puranic traditions. On the identification
of this particular work, Sachau’s surmise has been confirmed by
other writers.
13. The four castes and the Antyaja (pp. 45-46j. This portion
relating to the caste hierarchy and the one relating to the rites and
customs observed by members of the different castes (Chapters IX,
LXIII & LXIV) constitute in many ways the most important part of
Al-Biruni’s account. No such detailed and perceptive account of the
caste system as it prevailed in early medieval India is available in
any other non-Indian source.
B.P. Mazumdar ( Socio-Economic History of Northern India, (10JO-
Notes
281
1194 A.D.), 1960, p. 79) comments that Al-Biruni must have been
stating the position as it was given in the ancient scriptures and not
what actually obtained in the Hindu society at the time. He adds that
at the beginning of the 11th century there was much caste proli¬
feration, and there were a number of mixed castes too.
Actually, Al-Biruni’s account also gives some glimpses of the
actual situation. He writes, for example, in regard to the ‘latter two
classes’ (Vaisya and Sudra) that much as they differed from each
other ‘they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed
together in the same houses and lodgings.’ This may also be taken as
indicative of inter-caste marriages to some extent.
As regards the Antyajas, Professor Mazumdar writes that at the
time when the early smritis were composed the untouchables were
called antyajas, and adds that the enumeration of their subdivisions
varied, some sources mentioning 7, others 12. Al-Biruni mentions
them ‘after the Sudras’ and adds that they were ‘not reckoned
amongst any caste, but only as members of a certain craft or profes¬
sion’. He enlists them as ‘the fuller, shoe-maker, juggler, the basket
and shield maker, the sailor, fisherman, the hunter of wild animals
and of birds and the weaver.’ Professor Mazumdar identifies them
with the Rajaka, Charmakara, Nata or Sailushika, Buruda, Navika,
Kaivarta, Bhillas and Kuvindaka, and adds that they were regarded
as Candala or Antyaja in early smriti literature but Manu regarded
them as Sudra.
14. Karmatians (p. 53). A well-organised extremist sect which
appears at first to have been associated with the Isma'ili movement
but whose origins remain obscure. It laid stress on esoteric inter¬
pretation of some religious doctrines and was characterised by some
communistic tendencies. Its followers, called the ‘Bolsheviks of
Islam’ by some modem writers, stressed religious tolerance,
organised workers and artisans into guilds, and advocated com¬
munity of property and wives.
Hamdan Qarmat, an Iraqi peasant, was the founder of the sect,
and its followers came to be known as Qarmatians. They establish¬
ed a state on the western shore of Persian Gulf (899) which became
a constant source of trouble to the Abbasid Caliphate. In 930 they
attacked and seized the sacred city of Makka and carried away the
holy Black Stone which was returned 20 years later by the order of
the Fatimid Khalifa al Mansur (946-52).
Later they established their rule over the greater part of upper
282
India by Al-Biruni
Sind. They were defeated and suppressed by Sultan Mahmud (to
which Al-Biruni is referring here) but regained their position after his
death, and had to be suppressed again in 1175 by Sultan Muizuddin
Muhammad Ghori (1173-1206).
15. Varahamihira (p. 53). The famous Indian astronomer of the
6th century A.D., and author of the well-known works Pancha-
siddhantika and Brihat Samhita both of which are frequently referred to
by Al-Biruni. The latter book is on astrology, but also contains
information about many other subjects, including architecture,
iconography, gardening, erotics, etc. H. Kern edited it in the
Bibliotheca Indica series (1864, 1865) and also translated it into
English in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, London, New Series, Vols.
IV-VII.
16. Vasukra, the Kashmirian, putting the Veda into writing
(p. 58). This reference to the Veda being put to writing sometime
around 10-11th century is very significant. It is a great pity that no
copy of the work has survived.
16 A. The Puranas (p_60). The word Purana means ancient. As a
category of literature these are ancient religious poems, as also a
corpus of legends and religious instructions. Content-wise, these
were originally a book of origins, which is evident from their five
characteristic features, viz. creation, re-creation, genealogies of
gods and sages, the four cardinal aeons ( yugas ) and genealogy of
kings. In their present form the texts, according to A.L. Basham ( The
Wonder that Was India, paperback edition, 1967, p. 301) do not go
beyond the Gupta period (319-550 A.D.), but their legendary
material is very old.
Al-Biruni gives a list of the names of 18 Puranas as he had heard
and noted down, and another somewhat different list, also of 18
names, read to him from the Vishnu-Purana. He adds that of these he
had seen portions only of the Matsya, Aditya and Vayu Puranas.
17. Srnriti (p. 60). The Smriti (Remembered, or Tradition) denotes
a category of religious literature comprising law-books. The most
famous among these is the A ianu-Smriti (Law Book of Manu)
composed in its final form during the 2nd to 3rd century A.D. Al-
Biruni however mentions Smriti here as a particular book containing
‘commandments and prohibitions’.
It may be noted that the list of Smriti books given by Al-Biruni is
very important in one respect. It contains the names of some minor
Smritis, such as Atri, Harita and Daksha. This helps us to determine
Notes
283
the lower time-limit of the period of their compilation. He lists
Likhita and Sankha (nos. 14 and 15, p. 60).as two separate books,
but they are one— Sankha Likhita.
17 A. Gauda the anchorite (p. 60). Al-Biruni does not mention
specifically the name of Gaudapada, the preceptor of the great
Sankaracharya, but Sachau suggests that Gauda the anchorite
mentioned here may be identified with Gaudapada. The absence of
any reference by Al-Biruni to Sankaracharya* is surprising.
18. Nyayabhasa composed by Kapila (p. 60). Sachau writes that
he is not sure about the transliteration of this word in the Arabic text,
where it looks like Naybhash. He also writes that the contents of the
book bear no relation to the Nyaya philosophy of Gautama but are
identical with the Mimamsa philosophy of Jamini whose name is
mentioned just a little later.
The Nyaya is one of the six traditional schools of Hindu philo¬
sophy, of which the chief document is the Nyayasutra of Akshapada
Gautam (4th century A.D.). It was commented upon by another
scholar in the 16th century and this commentary is known as the
Nyayabhashya. The author of this commentary is unknown but Al-
Biruni states here that it was written by Kapila.
19. Mimamsa (p. 61) (Inquiry). A school of thought founded by
the sage Jaimini. Its original objective was to explain the Veda , which
it regarded as primeval and superhuman. There are two schools of
Mimamsa philosophy derived from the Vedas. One, known as Purva
Mimamsa, deals with Vedic rituals, while the other, Uttara Mimamsa
(also known as Vedanta) concentrates on the spiritual side of the
Vedic literature.
Al-Biruni is referring here to the former. The Purva Mimamsa Sutra
of Jaimini is a work of the 4-5th century A.D.
20. The book Laukayata ($*c) (p. 61). Sachau notes that the Loka-
yata school of thought was founded by Brihaspati, author of Barhas-
patyasutram. Its followers were materialist thinkers who did not
believe in any self or entity beyond the material body and its needs.
They believed that perception alone was the source of proof or
knowledge. Al-Biruni who uses the term as the name of a book
seems to be referring to some book by a writer of this school.
20A. The book Agastymata (p. 61). There are two books whose
titles bear the prefix Agastya. The first is the Agastya-Sutiveshna-
Samvada, a work of the Ramaite sect of the Bhakti school which is
assigned to the period between the 6th and 10th century A.D. The
284
India by Al-Biruni
other text is the Agastyasutra which together with the Devi Bhagwata
constitutes the chief document of a sect of the Sakta school which
seeks release through a total devotion to a supreme goddess, Devi. It
may be assigned to the latter half of the early middle ages. It is not
clear as to whether Al-Biruni is referring here to either of these two
works or some other one.
21. Panini (p. 63). The name of the famous Indian grammarian of
the 4th century B.C., and the author of the great Sanskrit grammar,
Astadhyayi (Eight Chapters).
22. Abul’aswad Addu’ali (p. 64). The originator of Arabic gram¬
mar according to literary tradition. He died in 681.
23. Sindhind (p. 70). Al-Biruni writes that the Indians called every
standard work on astronomy a Siddhanta. One such work, the
Brahmasiddhanta of Brahmagupta (note 25, below) was translated
into Arabic by Al-Fazari by the order of Khalifa Mansur (754-75)
and it was called Sindhind It was the earliest work which acquainted
the Arabs with Indian astronomy.
24. Paulisa and Pulisa (p. 70). Al-Biruni uses the two names for
two different persons. The former was a Greek, and the author of a
work on astronomy, the Paulisa Siddhanta. He has been identified
with the classical astronomer Paul of Alexandria. The latter was a
commentator of that work.
25. Brahmagupta (p. 70). A famous Indian astronomer and
mathematician who flourished in the 7th century A.D. His well-
known work on astronomy, the Brahmasiddhanta was partly translat¬
ed into Arabic by Al-Biruni (p. 70) who has also given a description
of the contents of this book (pp. 70-71). He also refers to another
work of Brahmagupta, called Khandakhadyaka, which was known
among the Arabs asAl-Arkand (p. 192). There was a commentary on
this work called Khandakhadyaka-tippa which Al-Biruni has taken to
be a work of Balbhadra. It may also be noted here that Al-Biruni
refers to a book which he wrote for a Kashmiri Syavabala (?), whose
title he gives as Arabic Khandakhadyaka (p. 268).
Al-Biruni praises Brahmagupta for the ‘abundance of his
knowledge and the sharpness of his intellect’ and calls him ‘the most
distinguished of their (Hindu’s) astronomers’, but also criticises him
for having compromised with certain scientific truths, of which he
was convinced, in order to placate uneducated priests. Al-Biruni
adds that Brahmagupta had to do so probably because of some
strong compulsion and in order to avoid the fate of Socrates (p. 218).
Notes
285
He also condemns him for using ‘offensive tertns’ against another
distinguished astronomer, Aryabhatta (p. 174).
26. Aryabhatta (p. 72). Famous Indian astronomer and mathe¬
matician of the 5th century A.D. He was the first to treat
mathematics as a distinct subject; his most important contribution in
this field being the notation system based on decimal place-value
system. His well-known work Aryabhatiya was composed in 499 A.D.
It has been edited with commentary by H. Kern (Leiden, 1874) and
more recently by Pandit Baldeva Mishra with commentary in
Sanskrit and Hindi (published by Bihar Research Society, Patna,
1966). Al-Biruni writes that he had not seen any of his works but
knew of him through the quotations given by Brahmagupta.
Aryabhatta held that the earth was a sphere and it rotated on its
axis. He criticised the traditional explanation of the eclipses, and
explained that ‘an eclipse of the moon is her entering the shadow of
the earth, and an eclipse of the sun consists in this that the moon
covers and hides the sun from us’ (p. 216). For these views he was
strongly criticised by Brahmagupta (p. 174, 217).
It may be noted that Al-Biruni refers to two different persons
bearing the name Aryabhatta. He describes them as ‘Aryabhatta the
elder’, and as ‘Aryabhatta of Kusumpura, who belongs to the school
of the elder Aryabhatta’ (pp. 116, 172). The latter was the author of
a book called Al-ntf (?) and also another book which was commented
upon by Balbhadra.
27. Caraka (p. 74). Author of Caraha Samhita, was the court
physician of the Kusana ruler Kanishka (1 st century A.D.). Caraka’s
work has been regarded as one of the basic texts on early Indian
medical science.
Al-Biruni refers to and quotes from an Arabic translation of this
work which was done for a prince of the Barmaki family (p. 74).
28. Barmecides (p. 74). The descendants of Khalid ibn Barmak
the powerful and influential Wazir of Khalifa Mansur. Khalid was the
son of the chief priest ( Barmak ) of a Buddhist monastery in Balkh.
His descendants called Barmaki or Barmecides wielded great
influence during the Khilafat of Mansur and Mahdi (775-85), but
met with a violent end in the Khilafat of Harun Rashid (786-809).
The Barmecides were great patrons of learning, and the period of
their dominance witnessed a marked increase in Persian and Indian
cultural influences in the Abbasid court.
29. Kalita iva Dimna (p. 74). An Arabic translation, from an
286
India by Al-Biruni
earlier Persian translation, of a Sanskrit work. Both the Sanskrit
original and the Persian translation are now lost, and the Arabic
version by Ibn al-Muqaffa (d. 757) is the basis of many other
translations in different languages. The work contains didactic
stories meant to instruct princes in morals and polity.
Some material of the lost Sanskrit original is. available in an
expanded form in the Pancatantra.
’ 30. Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa (p. 74). A Zoroastrian convert to
Islam. He was put to death by fire in c. 757 on account of his suspect
orthodoxy.
30A. Udunpur is Purvadesa (p. 81). Udunpur may be identified
with the Odantavihara, one of the four principal universities in early
medieval Bihar (600-1200). It was founded around 725 and stood
on the rocky hill at the outskirt of modem Biharsharif town (Nalanda
district), see Yogendra Mishra, ‘The Odantapuri Vihara’, Annual
Number of Journal of Rama Krishna Mission, Patna, 1984, pp. 93-
114. It is to be distinguished from the earlier, more well-
known, Nalanda vihara situated nearby.
31. Kanoj and Bari (p. 94). This is a valuable piece of informa¬
tion regarding the decline and min of the famous capital-city of
Kanauj and the transfer of the capital to another place named Bari,
on the eastern side of the Ganges. The transfer took place on the eve
of Mahmud’s invasion of Kanauj (1018).
R.S. Tripathi (History of Kanauj, 1964 edition, pp. 285, 287)
notices this information but does not make any comment on it.
Professor Y. Mishra ( The Hindu Shahis of Afghanistan and the Punjab,
A.D. S'65-1026, Patna, 1972. p. 197 and note) suggests that Bari
(which he reads as Van) was only a camp of the skandhvari (‘owner of
the camp’) Pratihara king, and that after its sack by Mahmud nothing
of it remained. It may, however, be pointed out that Al-Biruni
writing some 12 years after the invasion uses the terms ‘city’ and
‘town’ for Bari.
32. Farsakh (p. 94). A measure of distance, equal to 4 miles.
33. Yakub and Alfazari (p. 137). Yaqub ibn Tariq and Muham¬
mad Ibn Ibrahim Al-Fazari were- pioneers in introducing Indian
astronomical works to the Muslim world. The former belonged to the
second half of the 8th century A.D., and was the author of a book on
astronomy and mathematical geography which Al-Biruni quotes,
and also criticises for the wrong understanding of some concepts of
Indian astronomy and incorrect rendering of some Sanskrit words.
Notes
287
The latter was the translator of the Brahmasiddhantn (no. 25 above),
and Sachau suggests that he also translated the other work of
Brahmagupta, the Khandakhadyaka, which was known among the
Arabs as Al-Arkand.
34. Rama and Ramayana (p. 140). C. Bulcke ‘Al-Beruni and the
Rama-Katha’ A C Ipp. 77-83, points out that although Al-Biruni
does not mention the Ramayana in the chapter dealing with the
Indian religious literature (Chap. XII) it is evident from his various
references to ’the story of Rama and Ramayana’ (pp. 5 3,5 5,100-101,
139-141, 176) that he knew a good deal about the contents of the
great epic.
35. Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya Alrazi (p. 144). Abu Bakr
Muhammad ibn Zakariya Al-Razi (anglicised as Rhazes) (865—
925) was the chief physician of the hospital at Baghdad, and the
author of a number of books on medicine—the most famous of these
being the Hawi (the comprehensive book).
36. The Brahman kings Samand . . . Bhimpala (p. 194). Sachau
comments upon the dissimilarity in the nature and contents
of the two portions of this Chapter (XLIX), and observes that the
earlier portion, relating to the eras is taken from the l ishnu- Dhavma
(see note 12 above). For the latter portion, information of a
historical character (dynasty of the Shahs of Kabul) Al-Biruni does
not mention any written source. This is unlike Al-Biruni; had he
consulted some book he would have named it. It appears therefore
that this portion is based on oral information and ‘is to be considered
as the vulgata among the educated Hindus in the north-west of India
in his time.’ Al-Biruni often writes about the unreliability of such
historic tradition, and on this topic particularly he admits that the
historic chronology as given by him was not fully satisfactory.
Sachau concludes by remarking that ‘whatever blame or praise’was
to be attached to this chapter was to be laid to the charge of Al-
Biruni’s informants.
For a recent comprehensive study of the Hindu Shahis, see
Professor Yogendra Mishra, The Hindu Sahis of A fghanistan and the
Punjab, a.d. 865-1026, Patna, 1972. Professor Mishra regards the list
of rulers given here as correct, but points out that the Shahis were
Kshatriyas, not Brahmans as stated by Al-Biruni.
37. A mare is let freely to wander . . . (p. 230). According to the
standard sources on the point a horse was used for the purpose but
Al-Biruni refers to a mare.
288
India by Al-Biruni
38. (p. 249). This is an interesting piece of information. The
number of such persons must have been considerable in order to
justify a provision regarding them in the law of inheritance.
39. There is a great tree called prayaga .. . (p. 253). What seems
to be meant here is that there was a tree of the species called vata at
the point of confluence of the Ganga and the Jamuna at Prayaga
which was known as the prayaga tree, or the tree at Prayaga.
40. Hindu festivals (p. 258). Sachau suggests a comparison of
this portion relating to the Indian festivals with H.H. Wilson’s essay
on ‘The Religious Festivals of the Hindus’ in his Essays and Lectures ,
Vol. II, and points out that this chapter was translated into Persian in
Abu Sayeed Abdul Hayy Gardezi’s work (Bodleian ms. copy).
It may be added that Gardezi was a contemporary of Sultan
Zainul Millat Abdur Rashid bin Sultan Mahmud (1049-52) to whom
he dedicated his book, the Zainul Akhbar. The book contains an
account of the ancient kings of Iran, early Islamic history, chrono¬
logical eras, and festivals of the Muslims, Jews. Christians,
Zoroastrians and Hindus. The last-mentioned portion, as Sachau
points out, is a translation of this chapter of Al-Biruni. Barthold,
commenting on the importance of Zainul Akhbar for the history of
Khurasan area also writes that the' portion relating to India is
‘entirely dependent on Arabic sources’, and that the translation is
incorrect in some cases.
The Bodleian ms. copy is a transcript of the Cambridge ms. copy.
41. Mahanavami, the sister of Mahadeva (p. 260). The goddess
Mahanavami is equated with Bhagwati whose festival is celebrated
on the 8th Asuayufa, but she is wrongly described as the sister, not
consort, of Mahadeva. The festival obviously corresponds with the
Durga Puja festival of the present times. The sacrifice of a goat is
also mentioned.
42-45. (p. 260-61). Some doubts may arise in the mind of the
readers about the period of certain ceremonies such as the
pitripaksha, and dates of some festivals such as Dwali and Shwratn,
etc. For a better understanding and appreciation of this whole
account, B.P. Mazumdar’s The Socio-Economic History of Northern India.
( 1030-1194 a.d), pp. 274-315, may be seen where a well-
documented account of the Indian festivals based on a comparative
study of the Hindu digests and Al-Biruni’s book has been given.
Professor Mazumdar rightly draws attention to the points that there
are differences in regard to the date, and manner, of celebrating
Notes
289
some festivals, that the association of some festivals with certain
gods and goddesses has undergone changes, that Al-Biruni mentions
certain practices which are ‘unknown to Indian digest-makers’, that
some festivals then observed have now become extinct, and that
some important present-day festivals, such as Chath, were not known
to the northern Indians upto the 12th century.
The following point about the Hindu calendar may also be kept in
mind in this connection;
(i) Pitripaksha (p. 260). There are two methods of calculating a
month in a year (a) from the new moon to the amawasya, called the
amant, and (ii) from the full moon to the full moon, called the
pumimant. The period of shukla paksh or the bright half of the month,
may be common to both the methods. Al-Biruni describes this
festival as occurring ‘when the moon stands in the tenth station,
Magha,’ and goes on to add that ‘the moon’s entering this station
falls near the time of the new moon.’ Under the pumimant method of
calculating the months, Bhadrapada which Al-Biruni mentions here
would be inclusive of Asvin (Asvayuja ), in which the festival is
celebrated.
(ii) Dibali (p. 260). Al-Biruni mentions it as being celebrated on
‘the 1st Kartikka, or new moon’s day, when the sun marches in
Libra’. According to L.D.S. Pillai ( Indian Ephemeris, vol. 1, Madras,
1922, p. 31) ‘a lunation or synodical month is divided into thirty
tithis or lunar days of equal mean length. The first fifteen tithis,
corresponding to the bright-half of the month are called shukla paksha,
and the second fifteen tithis are called kiishna paksha. The last or the 30th
tithi is the new moon or Amawasya (emphasis added), and it is called
sometimes by the name of the month of which it marks the end, and
sometimes by the name of the following month. Further, it may be
added that the new moon or amawasya is a particular moment of
time, not a particular day or date. The ‘new moon’, technically, does
not indicate its visibility on the horizon.
(iii) Dhola (ie. dola) and Shivratri (p. 261). The Dola festival is the
Holi festival' of the present times, as indicated by its date (15th
Phalguna) and the manner of its observation.
(iv) The Shivratri (p. 261) is mentioned as occurring ‘on the follow¬
ing night, i.e. that of the 16th (Phalgunay . As we know, there is one
Mahashivratri, which is an annual festival observed 16 days before the
Holi or Dola , and, according to the Panchangs there is a. Shivratri in every
month, on the 13th day. Al-Biruni is not mentioning the Mahashivratri
290
India by Al-Biruni
but Shivratri, which may be one of the monthly Shivratris. The
discrepancy of the dates (13th and 16th), however, still remains,
and it might be due to error of transcription.
One other small discrepancy may be noted. The festivals are
described month-wise, in the usual order. Al-Biruni does not specify
that the months are listed in the serial order, but all of them are,
except one, which is listed out of turn—after Sravana comes A svayuja,
not Bhadrapada.
46. Syavabala (?) (p. 268). Sachau in his annotations suggests
that Syavabala (the Arabic text has the name Siyawpal) seems to
have been a Kashmiri Hindu who was converted to Islam.
Irrespective of this being correct or not, the important point to note is
that there were some Indians, at least in the border areas on the west,
who could read books in Arabic, and who tried to obtain some
information through them.
At another place Al-Biruni has referred to his ‘being occupied in
composing for the Hindus a translation of the books of Euclid and of
the Almagest, and dictating to them a treatise on the construction of
the astrolabe’ (p. 65). These references are very significant, for they
have a bearing on the rather neglected question of the Indian readers
of Al-Biruni.
Index
A
Abdullah Ibn Almukaffa 74
Abhapuri 95
Abu al-’Abbas Aleranshahn 5,117,149
Abu-alfath Albusti 17
Abu-Mashar 138, 149
Abu Sahl ’Abd-Almun’im Ibn Ali 4, 5
Abu-Yakub 31
Abul’aswad Addu’ali 64
Acaryas 72
Additahaur 99
Adharbaijan 93
Adi-Purana 60
Adilya 60, 104
Aditya-Purana 60, 78, 110, 111
Adud-aldaula, Prince 242
Afghan tribe 100
Afrasiab 138
Africa, North 137
African coast 213
Agastya 211, 212
Agastyamata 61
Agnivesa 74
Ahankara 20
Aindra 63
Ajodaha 96
Akshauhini 187-88
Al Arkhand 192
Al-Biruni, Abu Raihan Muhammad bin
Ahmad, 6, 13, 18, 29, 43, 67, 68,
116, 131, 186, 190, 202, 204, 207,
J16, 217, 219, 264, 267, 271;
— methodology of 13-14
— on concordance of Saka Kala
with Hijri era 180;
— on the name Aryabhatta 116;
— on differences of words, and mean¬
ings 118;
— on studying Indian subjects 7;
— on the verbosity of Hindus’ lan¬
guage 109-10;
— on views of Balabhadra and Brah¬
magupta 131
Al-Biruni’s, concern for exact informa¬
tion 191, 207, 209,210,217-18, 238;
— priase for Hindu Shahiya rulers
192-94;
— translation of a Sanskrit book into
Arabic 265
Al-daibal 100
Alfazari 78, 137, 195, 196, 198
AUuyjaj 238
Aljahiz 98
Alkhalil Ibn Ahmed 65
Alkindi 267
Al-ma’mura town 10
Almansura town 10,. 81, 99, 123, 191
Al-razi, Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya 144
Alexander 170
Alexander of Aphoridisias 145
Alexandria 70
Ali Ibn Zain 177
Alispur 97
Almagest 65, 219;
— of Ptolemy 127
Alms 235-36, 239
Alphabets see Hindus
Ambrish, King 52
Ammonius 37
Amravati 128
Ananadapala, Shah, 64, 194
Ananta 136
Anar 99
Andhradesa 81
Andhri alphabet 81
Angira s-Smriti 60
Anhilvara 98
Antyqja, professional group of people
46
Apastamba-Smriti 60
294
India by Al-Biruni
Aphrodisias 187
Apsara 40
Apsur 97
Arabia 88, 128
Arabic language 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 64,
66, 73, 81, 82, 118, 261;
— translations of Sanskrit works into
6, 73;
— sounds in 8
Arabs 49, 58, 66, 82, 110, 137, 208.
209, 267;
— Arabising foreign names 137;
— heathen 197;
— marriage among heathen 49
Aral sea 121
Acritenen 40
Ardashir ben Babak 45
Ardhanagari alphabet 81
Ardin 97
Arhant 56
Aristotle 145
Aijuna 13, 47, 186
Arku-tirtha 95
Armenia 93
Aror 98, 123
Aruna river 122
Arundhati 180
Arya (Metre) 67
Aryabhatta 72, 73, 108, 109, 117, 127,
143, 173, 174 196,201,217;
— Dasgitika of 93;
— books of 172;
— Brahmagupta’s Criticism of 173*-
74;
— doctrine of 72;
— two persons named 116;
— ‘the elder’ 116, 117, 172;
— of Kusumapura 83, 117, 172;
— name as known to the Arabs 196
Aryashtasata 73
Aryavarta 81, 191
Asawil 100
Asi 97
Asia, orographic system of 93
\strology 69;
— among Hindus and Muslims
269-73;
— books on 73;
y- technical terms of 270
Astronomy 69;
— books on 72;
— see also Siddhanta
\svamedha 62, 230
Asvatthaman 62
Asvin 74
Asvini 210
Athenians 187
Athens 187
Atharvanveda 58, 59
Atreya 178
Atri-Smriti 60
Auguries 269
Aurva, King 213
Avanti 136
Avyakta 19
Ayodhya see Ajodaha
Ayuta 83
Azjabhar 196
B
Babylonia 238
Babyloneans 258
Badhakhshan 93, 99
Badhatau, caste 46, 47
Baga town 100
Bagdad 206
Bahmanwa (Almansura) city 10, 81, 99
Bahudasa river 122
Balabhadra 72, 73, 108, 116, 117, 129,
131, 185
Baladeva 54
Bali, King 233
Bali, son of Virocana 53, 183, 261
Balkh 138
Ballawar 99
Bamahur 97
Bamiyan 93
Banarasi 96
Banavas 97
Barhamshil 95
Barhatakin, Turkish ruler 192
Bari (Kanauj) city 94, 96, 123
Barmecides 74
Baroi 100, 214
Barshawar 102
Barzakh 31
Barzoya 74
Bashshar Ibn Burd 224
Index
295
Bawarij pirates 100
Bazana, Gujarat’s capital 97, 98
Benaras 100;
— see also Varanasi
Berbera, Bay of 93
Betel chewing, benefits of 238
Bhadatta (? Mihidatta) 72
Bhagavat 120
Bhagavata, devotees of Vishnu 55
Bhagavati 54, 55, 256, 259, 260
Bhaikshuki alphabet 81;
— writing of Buddha 81 «
Bhailsan 97
Bhanuyasa (?) 72
Bharata 53, 134, 238;
— the book 13, 61, 62;
— wars of 184-86
Bharatavarsha 135-36
Bhargava 61
Bhatal 102
Bhati 98, 99
Bhatiya 81
Bhattila, author and book 7 3
Bhatul mountain 122
Bhavishya-Purana 60
Bhillamala 70
Bhim (Bhima), King 194
Bhimapala, King 194
Bhimasena 186
Bhoteshar, frontier of Tibet, 96
Bhukti 266
Bhumihara 97
Bhurloka 23
Bhuta 41
Bhuvankosha, Rishi 134
Bhuvarloka 23
Bias, of Pirene 16
Bihat 96
Bihroj 98, 100, 123
Biruni see Al-Biruni
Biyaha river 122
Biyatta river 99, 122
Black Sea 121
Bolar Shah, ruler of Kashmir 99
Bolor mountain 5 3
Brahman 39, 41, 42, 83, 115, 145, 153,
• 166, 172, 173, 177, 179, 189, 190,
217, 220, 223, 233;
— day and night of 146-48;
— egg of 107-108;
— idol of 54
Brahmana (Brahmans) 19, 36, 42, 45,
46, 47, 58, 98, 105, 163, 169, 176,
217, 228, 229, 232, 238, 240-41,
244, 245-46, 250, 253, 259, 261;
— customs of 47, 57;
— duties of 226;
— dynasty of Kings 193;
— exemption from taxes 235;
— names according to duties 46,
— obligations of 223-27;
_periods in the life of 223-27;
— priviliges of 98;
— and sacrificial rites 230-31, 239,
263;
— rulers 245;
— thoughts and beliefs of 19-21
— Brahmani 46, 55
Brahmanda 107
Brahmanda-Purana 60
Brahmarishi 42
Brahmagupta 68, 70,72, 108, 128, 129,
131,143,173-74,192,201,204,207,
211, 217;
— hatred towards Aryabhatta 173-
74;
— on the law of gravition 128-29;
— on Mount Meru 111, 127, 129
Brahma-Purana 60
Brahma Siddhanta 65, 70, 127, 217, 218
Brihaspati, author 61
Brihatsamhita 214
Buddha 19, 56, 63, 81, 252
Buddhists 5, 40, 63, 117, 149
Burial custom 251
Buyide, Prince 242
C
Cakraswamin idol 53, 214
Camunda 55
Candala caste 46, 229
Candra, author and his work 63
Candra (moon) 104, 105
Candraha (Candrabagha) river 99, 122
Canopus (South Pole) 211
Caraka, author and book 74, 76, 177
Carmanvati river 122, 227
296
India by Al-Biruni
Caspian Sea 121
Caste, system, among Hindus 44-47,
223;
— and Moksha 47;
— customs, rites and 228-29;
— functions assigned to different 245;
— punishments for different 245-47
Ceylon (Sarandib) 100, 101, 140
Chess 187;
— as played in India 87-88
Chilon, of Laeedaemon 16
China 80, 93, 96, 100, 101, 128;
— Chinese characters in letters 82;
— Great 100
Chinese Sea 101
Chosroes (Khusrau) 45
Christians 5, 6, 18, 51, 237, 245, 264
Christianity 11, 25
Cleobulus, of Undos 16
Clepsydrae, 156
Cordovan leather 52
Corinth 16
Cow’s meat, forbidden from eating
237-38
Cremation, origin of 251-52
Cretans 48
D
Dadhi-Sagara 72
Dahala 97
Dahmala 99
Daibal 100
Daitya 40, 129
Daksha-Smriti 60
Danavas 40, 129
Daraur 96
Darvad 100
Dasagitika, book 73
Days, specially venerated 263-65
Deva(s) 40,41,83, 129, 231;
— days of 151-52
— rising of 257
Devaka, spiritual beings 152
Devala 61
Dhar 90, 97
Dhritarashtra 185
Dhruva (the POle) 114
Dhutapapa, river 122
Dhya na -graha-adhyaya 71
Dibajat, the islands of Laccadive and
Maldives, 112
Dibali (Divali), festival 260
Dihak, fort 90, 122
Dike, of Rama 100, 122
Directions, definitions of ten 132-33
Dirwaradesa (Dravida-desa) 81
Dirwari (Dravidi) alphabet 81
Diva islands 101
Divyatattva 73
Diyamau 99
D'oma (Douba) caste 46
Draco 48
Drishadvati river 122
Drona 62
Dudahi 97
Dugumpur 96
Dunpur 99, 102
Durga 54, 55
Durgavivritti 63
Duryodhana 61
Dvapara-yuga 58, 74
Dvipa(s) 112, 116, 126, 232;
— seven 118-20;
— system of 112
E
Earning, and how to spend 235-36
Earth, Aditya-Purana and Vayupurana on
111 - 12 ;
— Hindu astronomers on 125-29;
— circumference of 143;
— vernacular names of 110
Earthquakes, times of 265
Eating, and drinking, things permissible
and forbidden 237-38
Eclipses, lunar and solar 216-18, 219;
— Brahmagupta on 217, 218;
— ceremonies during 217;
— suicides committed during 253;
— times of 265
Egypt 80, 187
Elements, twentyfive 21
Elghor 93
Eranshahri (see under Abul-al ‘Abbas
Aleranshahri’)
Eras, description of 189 fb different
189-92
Euclid 65
Index
297
Europe, orographic system of 93, 121
Expiations 245-47
F
Farsakh (unit of measurement) 78, 94,
fb. 123
Fasts see Upavasa
Festivals, and festive days 258-62
First Cause 17, 43, 182
Franks, country of 93
G
Gaisita 65 *
Galenus 145
Gallicians 93
Ganda (rhinoceros) 98
Gandaki river 122
Gandhara 10
Gandharva 40
Ganga-dvara 95
Gangasagara 96, 123-
Ganges 94, 95, 98, 119, 122, 123, 214,
232, 252, 253, 265;
— source of 95
Gangeya, ruler 97
Garga 73, 177
Garga-Samhita 217
Garuda 91
Gauda, the anchorite 60
Gauri 54, 259, 261
Gauri (Gaudi) alphabet 81
Gautama-Smriti 60
Geograpbia 137
Ghazna (Ghaznin) 10, 53, 99, 214
Ghuzz Turks 252
Gita 13, 26, 35, 56;
— on Gods and idols 56
Godavar river 97
Gomati river 122
Gomeda-Dvipa 120
The Gospel 5
Graha see planets
Grammar, books on 63;
— origin of 64
Grammaticus, Johannes 31
Gravitation, law of 128
The Great Bear (North Pole) 115, 133;
— position of 180
Greeks 6, 11 , 1 6, 1 7,26, 31,40, 43, 48,
68, 79, 81, 92, 104, 126, 136, 144,
178, 187,211,251,258,272;-
— Byzantine 137;
— heathen 11;
— thinkers, 14
— opinion about earth 175
Gupta era 190, 191, 192
Guptas 191
Guzarat 97
Gwaliyar 97
H
Hadi caste 46
Hamsapura 136
Harahaura 136
Haramakot mountains 100
Haribhatta 67
Harita-Smriti 60
Harivamsa-Parvan 62
Harlotry 241-42
Heavens, names in the Puranas 112
Hebrew 18, 50, 82
Himavant mountains 121, 134, 259
Hind (India) 94
Hindi 74
Hindus
— alchemy among 89;
— alphabets of 80; 81;
— astrology of 69-74, 269-73
— astronomy of 69-74, 126-27;
— beliefs of 13-15;
— books on Jurisprudence and reli¬
gion of 60-61;
— caste system among 44-47;
— on ‘created things’ 16-19;
— cremation rites of 31, 251-53;
— customs and manners of 47, 79,
84-87;
— eras of 189-92;
— festivals of 258-62;
— idol-worship by 51
— indifference to chronology and
history among 193;
— insularity among 11
— literature on astrology and astro¬
nomy 69-74;
— on grammar and metrics 63-68;
— matrimonial system of 49;
India by Al-Biruni
metormpsychosis among, 25-26,
29-30
— methods of determining distances
and longitude by 77, 95, 96, 142-
43;
— Muslims and, barriers separating
7-12;
— nine Commandments of 34-35;
— notes on arithmetic and writing of
79-84;
— notions on duration of time 144-
49;
— notions on four Yugas 176
— numerical signs of 82-83 religious
ideas of 16 ff; religious and civil
laws of 48ff;
— scientific books of 8;
— system of weights and measure¬
ments of 75-78;
Hindus, regarding, creation and
destruction of world 146, 148;
— Gods and created things 13-15;
— moksha 32-34;
— months and years 197 ff.
— predilection for metrical compo¬
sitions among 63-68;
— prisoners of war 246-47;
— repugnance for foreigners 9;
— spiritual beings 41;
— non-Hindus, defiling fire and water
-230-31
Hindu Shahiya dynasty 194
Hora (hour) 157;
— lucky/unlukcy 157-58
Hora Panca-hotriya 73
Hradini river 123
Idol worship, beginnings of 51-56
Ilyas Ibn Muawiya 243
India 11, 82, 88, 98, 101, 106, 121,
128, 135, 136, 157, 191, 245, 258;
— alluvial formation 94;
— animals of 98;
— Central and Northern 80, 94;
— continent of 93;
— distances between regions/towns
of 94-99
— frontiers of 10, 94, 100;
— rainfall in 102;
rivers of 94-96, 121-24
Indian, chess 87-88;
— languages 8;
— Ocean 93, 94, 214
— scribes 8;
Indra 39, 41, 63, 74, 119, 179, 181,
256, 272
Indrani 55
Indravedi 102
Indriyani 21
Inheritance, law of 248-50
Iravati river 122
Irawa river 99
Islam 14, 25, 43, 50, 79, 88, 242, 263
Islands 101;
see also Dvipa
Ispahbad, of Kabul 242
J
Jabriyya sect 14
Jadura 97
Jahravar 122
Jailam (Jhelum) river 99, 100, 122
Jaimini 61
Jaipal (Jayapala) 194
Jajahuti 97
Jajjamau 95
Jajjanir 99
Jalalika (Gallicians) 93
Jalam Ibn Shaiban 53
Jalandhar 99
Jam 138
Jambu-Dvipa 116, 118, 121
Jamini 61
Janardana, worship of 119
Jandra 97
Janpa 96
Jataka, book 73
Jatta family, of cattle owners 185
Jattaraur 97
Jaun (Jamuna) river 94, 95, 99, 122.
253
Jaur 96;
Jaur, King 100
Jews 5, 51, 79, 99, 197, 272;
— marriage among 50;
Index
299
— system of leap years among 197
Jimur City 100
Jina, idol 54
Jishnu 70
Jivasarman 73
Judaism 25
Judari peak 102
Jupiter 221
Juijan sea (Caspian sea) 121
K
Ka‘ba 51, 234, 272
Kabul 10, 93, 94, 99, 192, 242;
— Shahiyas of 193;
— Shahs of 192
Kacch 100, 123
Kaikhusrau 138
Kaj river 122
Kajuraha 97
Kalanjar fort 97
Kali 189
Kalila and Dimna, book 74
Kaulinda 136
Kalinga 136
Kallar, Wazir 193
Kamalu, King 194
Kambhaka 146
Kamru 96
Kamsa 185
Kanbayat 100
Kand 97
Kandhar 99
Kangdiz 138
Kanik, ruler 193
Kanji 96, 100
Kannakara, realm of 97
Kannara troops from Kamatdesa 81
Kanoj (Kanau) 10,81,94,95,96,97,99,
190;
Kanyakubja 94
Kapila, Sage 33, 60, 145
Karana(s) 72, 266-67;
— literature 72
Kama-Khanda-Khadyka, book 72
Karatoya river 122
Karmatians 53
Karmendriyani 21
Kamacudamani, book 73
Kama-para-tilaka 72
Kama-pata 73
Kamasara, book 72
Kamata 81, 227;
— alphabets used in 81
Kamatdesa 81
Kama tilaka, book 72, 204, 268
Karunca-Dvipa 119
Kashmir 10, 49, 53, 64, 81,82, 99, 102,
121, 136, 214, 234, 258;
— city of 100;
— notes on 99;
— rulers of 99
Kashmiri 268;
— calander 190
Katantra, book on grammar 63
Katyayana 60
Kaumari 55
Kausiki river 122
Kaurava(s) 185
Kawana river 122, 123
Kawini river 123
Kawital 99
Khaibar 79
Khalifs 80
Khanda Khadyaka. book 192, 202, 204,
209, 211, 219, 220;
— translated into Arabic by Al-
Biruni 268
Khanda-Khadyaka-Tippa. book 72
Khazars 121
Khotan 99
Khurasan 11, 93
Khwarism sea (Sea of Aral) 121
Kihkind mountain of the Monkeys
100-101
Kinnara 40
Kisra 79
Klysma (Red sea) 93
Koran see under Qur'an
Krisa (?) ruler of Mathura 178
Kritayuga 52, 264
Kriya-yoga 35
Kshatriya(s) 42, 45, 47, 176, 224,-228,
240, 246, 253;
— exempted from capital punish¬
ments 246
Kshetrapala 55
Kubera, idol 54
300
India by Al-Biruni
Kuhu river 122
Kulinda 136
Kulzum sea 128
Kumair Islands 101
Kumbhaka 146
Kunk 96
Kunkan province 97
Kura-babaya 72
Kuraha 95
Kurma-Purana 60
Kum 61, 123, 177, 234
Kurukshetra 234
Kusa-Dvipa 119
Kuti 99
L
Laccadiva islands 101
Ladda 99
Lagaturman, King 193
Lakshmi 261
Langa (clove-country) 140, 141
Lanka (Ceylon) 100, 137, 139-41
Cupola of the Earth 139
Origin of the name 140
Laran 100
Lardesh 81, 98
Lari alphabet 81
Lata 127
Lauhawur (Lahore), 99, 122
Laukayata, book 61
Lavana-mushti, book
Law, of inheritence 248-50;
— of murder and theft 245-46
Laws, civil 48 ff
Lawsuits 243-44
Leap year 197
Liberation see Mokhsa
life, cycles of 184-86;
Survival of the fittest in 184
Likita-Smriti 60
Linga 55;
— at Somnath 55, 213;
— origin of worship of 213
Loharani town 99, 100, 123
Lohita river 122
Lokananda, writer and book 73
Loni, castle of 191
Lunar stations 208-10
M
Madhyadesa 81, 94
Madhyaloka 28
Madura 136
Magadha 136
Magian 40, 50, 56
Mahabharata 61-62;
— number of Slokas in 61;
— (also Bharata)
Mahabhuta 20, 177
Mahachin 100
Mahadeva 41,42,53,54,55,56,64, 83,
133, 260, 261;
— linga of 213, 214
Mahakala 97
Mahmud, (Sultan) Yaminaddaula 10,
53, 190, 194, 213, 214
Mahratta-Desh 97
Mahura 94, 97, 234, 256
Maiwar country of 97
Makran 100
Maladive islands 101
Malamasa (adhimasa) 197-99
Malava 97, 81
Malwa 90
Malwari alphabet 81
Malwashau 81
Malaya 96
Manasa, book 21, 73
Manasa lake 272
Manasothama mountain 120
Mandagir 97
Mandahukur 99
Mandavya 73
Manichaeans 5, 51, 74, 237
Manittha 73
Mankalus (Myrtilos) 187
Manu 61, 73, 115, 179, 181;
— book of 248
Manu Smriti 60, 217
Manushyaloka 28
Manavantra, period of time, 115
Markendiya 146
Markandeya-Purana 60
Mathura 94, 95, 185, 190
Matrimony 239-42;
— law of, among Hindus 238-39;
— number of wives permitted 240
Index
301
Matsya-Purana 60, 78, 118, 121, 213
Mau, the Greek 73
Media 93
Medicine, literature on 74
Mediterranean sea 137
Mekka 51, 234
Meru, mountain 116, 117, 121, 126,
127, 129, 151, 152, 232;
— Bhuddists on 117
Metempsychosis 25, 29, 31
Metres, names of 67-68
Metrology, Hindu 75
Mianos 48
Mihran (Muhran) river 98, 123
Mimanisa, book 61
Minos 48
Mirat 99
Moksha 32-38, 47;
— nature of 36
Months, Lunar Solar 159-61;
— parts of 163, 165
Moses (Prophet) 48
Muawiya, Caliph 56
Muhammad (Prophet) 17, 25, 273
Muhammadans, of India 88, 192, 194,
269
Muhammad Ibn Elkasim Ibn Elmuna-
bbih 9, 53
Multan 52, 53, 70, 98, 102, 122, 191,
233, 234, 262;
— earlier name of 136;
— idol at 52, 55
Mulasthana city 10
Mundagir 97
Munha 100
Mungiri 96
Muslim(s) 5, 7,9,10, 18, 39, 45,63,79,
88,118,125,139,142,150,232,242,
246, 269
— authors 31, 209;
— barriers separating Hindus with,
7-11;
— inroads into India 9-10;
— on metapsychosis 27;
— on time 146;
— self adulation among 88
Mu‘tazila sect 4
Mu’tazilites 4
Muttai, King of Kashmir 258
N
Naga 40
Nagna, devotees of Arhant 56
Nagara alphabets 81
Nagarapura 72
Nagaijuna 90
Nagarkot 122;
— Fort 193
Nagaloka 28
Nahusha 41
Naipal 96
Nakula 186
Namavur 97
Namiyya valley 97 ? .
Nandivkesvara 41
Nanda-Parana 60
Narayana 42,43,48,61,83,91,97,105,
182-83, 233, 251;
— appearance and names of 182-83;
— idol of 54
Narmada (Nerbudda) river 97, 123
Nauroz 190
Negroes 93, 98, 101
Nepal (Naipal) 96
Nile river 93, 98, 128
Nimroz (Sijistan) 94
Niscira river 122
Nishapur 138
Numerals see Hindus
Nyayabhasha, of Kapila 60
Nychthemeron, kinds of the day 150-53 ;
— divisions of 154-58
O
Oaths and Ordeals 244
Oceans, ebb and flow in 213-15
P
Padnar town 100
Paithamaha 70
Pancala city 62, 136
Panca-matras 20
Pancanada 123
Panca-Siddhanta 70
Panchatantra, book 74
Panchir 49
Pandu 61, 94, 177;
302
India by Al-Biruni
— five brothers 186
Panipat 99
Pan ini 63
Panjayavar town 100
Paper, manufacture of 80
Para river 122
Parasara 61, 73, 80
Parasara-Smriti 60
Parasuram 176
Pamasa river 122
Pataliputra 96
Patanjali, book of 61,13, 35, 37,41,60,
205;
— translation of, into Arabic 6
— commentary on 113, 117;
— translation into Arabic of 6
Patriotism, origin of 233
Periander, of Corinth 16
Persia 93
Persian (s) 31, 45, 109, 138, 190;
— castes among 45;
— Empire 45;
-Gulf 93;
— languages 40, 74, 103, 138, 156,
— Sea 128;
— system of naming week days, 103
Persis 11
Phaedo, of Socrates 26, 31, 249
Pilgrimages 232-34
Pingala 65
Pinjaur 99
Pisaca 41
Pitaras, 41;
— deceased ancestors 226
Pittacus, of Lesbos 16
Planets, distances and sizes of 205-207;
— lucky and unlucky 270;
— names of, in Indian languages
103-104
Plato 17,21,31,37, 249
The Pole (Dhruva) 131
— traditions regarding 114-15
Pontus sea (Black Sea) 121
Population, pressure of 185
Prajapati 39, 42, 74, 213
Prakriti 19-20
Prayag 95;
— tree of 95, 253;
— suicides committed at 253
Prithu 133
Priyavrata 115
Proculus 37
Ptolemy 95, 108, 127;
— Almagest of 127
Pulisa 70, 108, 127, 129, 130, 143,
156, 172, 173, 198, 201, 204, 268;
— the Greek 77;
— Siddhanta 70, 77, 127
Punishments 30, 245-47
Puncala (?) 73
Puranas 41, 59-60, 112, 116, 117, 121,
125, 131;
— on the seven Dvipas 118-20
— list of the 60
Purusha 19, 148, 153, 173;
— day of 153
Purushawar 99;
— viharaofl93
Purvadesa 81;
— alphabets used in 81
Pushkar-Dvipa 120
Pythogoras 48
Q
The Qur’an 18, 27, 37, 80, 125
R
Rahab river 123
Rahunrakarandy book 73
Rajagiri 99
Rajauri 97
Rajarshi 42, 48
Rakshasa 40, 41
Rama, son of Dasratha, 53,55,100,101,
139-41, 176;
— dike of 100, 122, 140
Ramayana 140, 141
Ramm islands 101
Ramsher 100
Ranka 90
Rasayana (alchemy) 90, 91
Rasayanta-tantra 72
Ravana 139, 140, 176
Revati 257
Rigveda 58, 59;
— recitation of 59
Rihanjur, capital of Lardesh 98
Index
Risks 42, 48,60, 74, 117, 145;
— Bhuvanakosa 134;
— seven 180, 181
Ritu, a period of about 2 months 166
Ro^> 140
Romans 258
Roman Empire 93, 137
Rbmaka 137;
— Siddhanta 70
Rudra 42
Rum 129, 137
Rustam 272
S
Sabuktagin, Nasiraddaula 10
Sacrifices 59, 230-31, 239, 259, 263
Sagara 252
Sahadeva 186
Sahanya, town 97
Saindhava alphabet 81
Saka era 190;
_ concordance with Hijra era 180
Sakakala 180, 191, 201
Saka-Dvipa 119
Sakata 63
Sakatayana 63
Salmala-Dvipa 119-20
Samand, King 194
Samani dynasty 10
Samarkand 8b
Samaveda 58, 59
Samba-Purana 60
Samdhi 169-70;
Samhita 73, 136, 137, 212, 222, 265;
— of Varahamihira 53, 271
Samkhya 6, 13, 37, 41;
— book 23, 30, 39, 60;
— School 23;
— translated into Arabic 6
Samkara 42
Samkranti 160,264, 265
Samvarta-Smriti 60
Sandan town 100
Sankha-SmrUi 60
Sanskrit 7,9,12;
— books 9,11; /
— names 12
Sarada idol 53
303
Sarandib (Sangaladip/Cey Ion) 100,101,
112 ; .
— pearls of 101
Sarayu (Sarwa) river 122
Sarsat river 122
Sarsati river 123, 214
Sarvavarman, Grammarian 63
Sasideva, Grammarian 63
Sasideva Vritti, book 63
Satakratu 183
Satapata-Smriti 60
Satarudra (Shataldhar/Satlej) river 122,
123
Satavahana (Samalvahana) 64
Saumya 39
Saunaka 233
Sauvira 136
Sayavabala, of Kashmir 268
Sciences, promotion of 69
Setubandha (Dike of Rama) 100
Shamahina river 122
Shamanians 19, 56, 252
Shamaniyya 40
Sharwar town 96
Shash city 136
Shat-Pancasika 73
Shataldar river 122
Shilahat town 96
Shirsharaha 99
Shugnan-Shah, of Kabul 99
Sicily^idols of 56
Siddha 42
Siddhamatrika alphabets 81
Siddhanta, books on astrology 70, 72,
196;
— ofPulisa 70, 77
Siddhapura 138
Suistan (Sakastene) 9, 31, 94
Sindh (Sind) 9, 56, 76, 81, 94;
— alphabets used in 81;
— country of 94,141,214;
— province of 128;
river 10, 99, 122, 191;
— sea 123;
— Valley 100
Sindhi city^423
Sindhind 153, 17T,-211
Sindhu 136
Sindhu-Sagara 123
304
India by Al-Biruni
Singaldib 100
Sipra river 122
Sishyahitavritti 63
Skanda idol 54
Skand-purana 60
Slavonians 121;
— sea of (Baltic Sea) 121
Slokas, books in the form of 84
Smriti, list of books 60
Socrates 11, 26, 31, 79
Solon, of Athens 16, 48
Soma-Pur ana 60
Somanath 53,77,90,98,100,123,165,
213-14;
— etymology 214;
— pirates of 100
Somanath temple 213-15
Soul, and matter 22
Sri Harsha era 190
Srishena 70, 217
Srudhava, (srotavya ?) books on auguries
74
Subara town 100
Sudras 46, 47, 57, 185, 191, 228, 229,
236, 237, 240, 241, 247, 253, 283;
— things forbidden to 229;
— wine drinking permitted to 237
Sufala country of the Negroes 98, 101,
102, t 128, 214
Sufis 14, 16, 17, 26, 30;
— doctrine of 27;
— ideas of 6;
— origin of the word 16-17;
— paralles with Hindu ideas 37;
— metempsychosis and 26-27
Sugriva 72
Suicides, practice of 253
Sukha 128
Sukra 61
Surinam 99
Surya-Siddhanta 70
Sutra 74
Suvama-Dvipa 101
Svarloka 23, 28
Svyambhuva, Manavantara of 115
Sweet men t-khadyaka 12
Syria 128
Syriac 18,
T
Tabaristan 177
Tamra river 122
Tana, capital of Kunkan 98, 100
Taneshar (Staneshvara) city 53, 94, 99,
186, 214, 234
Tantra literature 72
Tanwat 96
Tarkshya-Purana 60
Tarojanapala (Trilocanapala), King 194
Tarn, black coloured people 96
Tash-kand city 137
Tawalleshar 100
Thales of Miletus 16
Thora 5, 18, 80
Tiauri, capital of Dahala
Tibet 93, 96, 99
Tibetans 49, 192, 193
Tikani (?) Yatra 73
Time, in astronomical and religious rela¬
tions 220;
— divisions of 154, 162, 163, 173;
— months and 200-201
— public announcement of—in
India 156;
— unlucky 268
Tiz, capital of Makaran 100
Triyagloka 28
Tokharistan 93
Towns, in India 95-100
Changes in names of‘countries’ and 136-
37
Turks 10, 96, 121, 138, 192, 227, 252,
258;
— of Kohten 99;
— country of 93
Turan, Gulf of 100
U
Udanpur 81
Ugrabhuti, Grammarian 63, 64
Ujjain 90, 97, 122, 136, 138, 143
Umayya, Caliphs 53
Ummalnara town 100
Upava$a see Fasting
Urdabishau 96
Usams-Smriti 60
Index
305
Usury 236
Utpala, the Kashmirian 73, 136
Uttanapada, 115
Uttarkharula-Khadyka 72
Uwaryahar 95
V
Vadavamukha 126, 127, 129, 140, 150
Vaishnavi 55
Vaisya 46, 47, 57, 225, 229, 240, 241,
253;
— duties of 228, 229
Vaivasvata 128
Vajra 146
Valakhilaya (?) 183
Vallabha ruler 90, 100, 190, 191, 192;
era of 191
Vallabhi 90
Vamana-Purana 60
Var 192
Varahi 55
Varahamihira 53, 70, 73, 76, 77, 106,
136, 145, 180, 210, 212, 214, 217,
219, 271,272;
— on eclipses 216;
— on measure 76;
— on law of gravitation 128;
— books by 53, 73
— Brihatsamhita and ^amhita of
145, 180,214
Varaha-Purana 60
Varanasi (Benaras) 10, 72, 81, 234
Varna (ashram) system 44-47
Varuna 133
Vasishtha 127, 180
Vashishtha-Siddanta 70
Vashishtha-Smriti 60
Vasudeva 13, 41, 47, 49, 62, 94, 119,
214, 184-86, 229, 234, 257, 260
Vasukra 58
Vayu 133
Vayu-Purana 60, 78, 113, 114, 121, 128,
135,137
Vazir, 193
Veda 57-59, 183, 217, 224, 228, 238;
— four 59, 259;
— meaning of 57;
— notes on 57;
— on sacrifices 230^31; put to writings
58
Vedasmriti river 122
Venumati river 122
Vibha 128
Vidasini river 122
Vidhyadhara 40
Vijayanandin 72
Vikramaditya 90, 190, 191;
— era of 191
Vinayaka 55, 62
Vindhya mountain 123
Virocana 53, 183, 261
Visala river 122
Vishnu 43, 55, 60, 120, 183;
— idol of 54
Vishnucandra 217
Vishnu dharma book 35, 61, 133, 146,
153, 173, 176, 177, 179
Vishnu-Purana 29, 31, 60, 112, 118,
119, 120, 179, 181, 183, 205, 224,
225
Vishnu-Smriti 60
Visvamitra 146
Vittesvara 72
Vivaha-patala 73
Vrihaspati 60,^ 61
Vrihaspati-Smriti 60.
Vritta, metre 68
Vyakta 19-20
Vyadi 90
Vyasa 58, 60, 61, 62, 80;
— Mahabharata of 61
Vyasa-Smnti 60
W
Waihind capital of Kandhar, 99
Wakhan-Shah 99
War, as a means of reducing population
185
Widow-burning 240
Y
Yadava 186;
— tribes of Vasudeva 62
Yagnavalkya 61 *
Yajnavalkya Smriti 60
Yajnopavita 86, 223, 228
306
India by Al-Biruni
Yqjurveda 58, 59
Yaksha 40, 41
Yakub 137,196
Yakub Ibn TYarik 143, 162, 198, 201,
206
Yama 133, 138
Yamakoti 129,137
Yama Smriti 60
Yamuna river see Jaun
Vrihdspati-Smriti 60
Yatra feast 258
Yavankqti 139
Yaz^jird, era of 190
Yemen 128
Yogas 268
Yogayatra 73
Yojana 78 (see also farsakh)
Yugas 221, 264;
— opinions on 173-74
Z
Zabaj islands 101
Zanj 128;
— country of 101, 214;
— islands of 101;
— tribe 93
Zarkan book of 5
Zeus 43, 48
Zy 70
Zodiac signs 103, 105, 151, 157
Zodiacal 40, 160, 164, 165, 270, 271
Zoroaster 40
Pruned at New Kings Offset Press, Meerut-.
• ,
Al-Biruni, celebrated mathematician and astronomer, came to
India in the wake of the invading forces of Mahmud of Ghazni in
the eleventh century. His Enquiry into India, popularly known in
its original Arabic version as Tarikhu’l Hind , is erudite and, as a
historical chronicle of its kind, a classic. There is much in this
chronicle that reads like fiction, while being at the same time an
objective record of the history, character, manners and customs of
India of that time.
Sachau’s well-known English translation of the classic has been
used in this publication, but edited specially for a large and
popular readership.
Qeyamuddin Ahmad (bom 1930), the editor of this volume, did
his M.A. in 1950 and Ph.D. in 1962 from the Patna University
where he has been teaching history since 1964. He has made a
special study of medieval Indian history and of the Indo-Muslim
society vsx the nineteenth century. Among his publications are
three books, The Wahabi Movement in India (1966), Corpus of
Arabic and Persian Inscriptions of Bihar (A.H. 640-1200) (1973)
and Mazharul Haque (1976) and large number of articles on
various aspects of medieval and modem Indian history. He has
contributed several articles in the Encyclopedia Iranica (New
York, USA) and is the Associate Editor of Comprehensive
History of Bihar, Volume II, Part I (1983) and Part U (1986).
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